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THE ASSUNPINK CREEK
Team Faculty Mentor: Curt Elderkin
Student Researchers: Andrew Máthé and Alex Rass
Postindustrial cities are faced with the responsibilities of developing a economic infrastructure, and restoring balance to polluted resources and impacted ecosystems. Freshwater streams that pass through urban areas are characterized by the absence of a riparian zone, a vegetative buffer adjacent to the channel that controls flooding and stabilizes nutrient movement into the watershed. In the case of Trenton, N.J., the rehabilitation of the Assunpink Creek, a tributary of the Delaware River, has become a prominent issue. A recent report by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) has revealed that water quality of the Assunpink becomes extremely poor as it enters the city limits, citing high levels of lead, nitrates, phosphates and fecal coliform bacteria, as well as wide swings in dissolved oxygen (DO) levels. A significant portion of the stream is enclosed by a box culvert, and many regions are bordered by brownfield sites. The report outlines the Assunpink Greenway Project, which aims to restore the riparian zone along sections of the creek through multiple municipalities. Recent passage of statewide funding in the form of the Green Acres Program, as well as a ?daylighting? project spearheaded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, should mark significant advancement of this initiative. We will consider the ecological implications of urbanization on river ecosystems (especially in the context the River Continuum Theory), and discuss current restoration initiatives. One promising approach to these problems is the Human Ecosystem Framework (HEF), where ecological health of a city?s ecosystems are viewed as intertwined with economic development and infrastructure. HEF is currently being applied to postindustrial development within Baltimore, and may serve as a model for Trenton.
