Tree removal launches Hampton pond-improvement project

Plans call for the removal of about 80 to 90 trees from the area around the pond near the southern end of Hampton Community Park.

The clearing represents the first phase of a pond enhancement project to comply with environmental requirements with regard to storm water and eventually to extend the park’s trail system to the body of water. Removing the trees is necessary for access, assistant township manager Susan Bernet said.

During Hampton council’s Sept. 13 agenda meeting, she requested authorization to advertise for removal bids, with the goal of awarding a contract in October and starting work in November. The original cost estimate was $65,000 to $80,000.

“After the final designs, we feel it’s going to be a little lower than that,” Bernet said.

Council members will vote on her request during their regular meeting on Sept. 27.

Regarding further phases of the project, part of the second stage involves identifying and remediating unknown discharge from the pond.

“We literally do not know where the water is going. We’re not exaggerating. We have checked everywhere,” municipal manager Christopher Lochner said, including nearby sanitary sewer lines.

The thought is that the discharge could be into the undermined area below the pond.

“We know it has to be draining somewhere, because we know there’s water going into it,” Lochner said.

According to Bernet, other components of the second phase are:

• Redesigning the pond’s outlet structure to maximize storm-water management capacity.

• Re-establishing and stabilizing embankments.

• Establishing a forebay, or settling basin, to provide storm-water pretreatment and reduce sediment deposits in the pond.

• Installing an aeration system to reduce algae and increase water quality.

“The third phase is to establish a pond aquatics educational trail and tree plantings back around the pond,” Bernet said. “Once it’s done, the public will be able to use it a lot more.”

As per Hampton’s Community Park Master Plan, an Americans With Disabilities Act-compliant trail will extend from parking lots to a pond observation area, with “nature exploration trails” circumnavigating the water.