Wesley Lake muck at the west end. Paul Goldfinger photograph March, 2017. ©
Wesley Lake bridge over dirty waters. Paul Goldfinger photo ©
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger.
The Wesley Lake cleanup is a fine gesture, but it is essentially cosmetic and useless in terms of the fundamental problems that have been identified regarding the pollution of the Lake. This event consists of some kids and adults spending 3 hours picking up trash lying around the edges of the Lake.
One boat will be out on the Lake to try to do something about floating debris. This event is run by one of the OG members of the Wesley Lake Commission who also wears a hat representing the Friends of Wesley Lake.
If you want to know more about the serious issues facing the Lake’s ecology, just do a Blogfinger search in the box above and type in “Wesley Lake.”
And here is a link to our latest post on this subject:
Wesley Lake at a crossroads. May, 2017 BF post
THE STANDELLS: “Dirty Water” This song was suggested by Interlocutor. It’s by a Boston rock band that is referring to the dirty water in the River Charles, but it can rub elbows with Blogfinger as we talk about the dirty water in Wesley Lake (minus the “frustrated women, the muggers, and the thieves.”)
Got an appropriate song for the Wesley detention/sanitation basin:
Dirty Water by the Standells
I.M.Radar, Wesley Lake is “owned” by the people of N.J.
There is no “legal authorization”, (local or state) to classify the Lake as a municipal facility.
Both A.P. and Neptune equally allow polluted storm water runoff to drain into the Lake.
Neptune Township, Asbury Park, the D.E.P., and their Green Acre program should be charged with political malpractice for permitting the Lake to be used as a cesspool that drains directly into the Atlantic Ocean.
Supposedly the State DEP is developing plans and funding to regionalize the protection of Jersey Shore lakes. There are other lakes that have similar problems as we do. See our article about Deal Lake; link below.
https://blogfinger.net/2016/12/27/deal-lake-citizens-make-progress-towards-cleaning-the-lake-water-we-should-do-the-same-for-wesley-lake/
As usual when confronting an issue with Neptune Township, there are more questions–than solutions.
Who “owns” Wesley Lake in terms of municipal boundaries?
By what ‘legal authorization’ or agreement has Neptune Township determined it is a waste depository?
Has Asbury Park acknowledged its runoff problem and done anything about it ?
What environmental groups (i.e., Sierra Club, NRDC, etc.) exist for the area that can provide assistance or advisement?
And of particular importance (with the lack of Neptune Township initiative), what local or state organizations (i.e., chambers of commerce) or agencies (i.e., State Department of Community Affairs)can advocate effective remediation?