Royce Brook

Royce Brook
	Map of Royce Brook
Country	United States
Physical characteristics
Main source	40°30′6″N74°41′48″W / 40.50167°N 74.69667°W
River mouth	20 ft (6.1 m); 40°31′51″N74°35′14″W / 40.53083°N 74.58722°W Coordinates: 40°31′51″N74°35′14″W / 40.53083°N 74.58722°W
Basin features
Progression	Millstone River, Raritan River, Atlantic Ocean
River system	Raritan River system

Last updated February 19, 2019

Royce Brook (sometimes referred to as Royces Brook, Royces Branch, or Royce Brook River^[1]) is a tributary of the Millstone River in Hillsborough and Manville, New Jersey in the United States.

A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage basin of its surface water and groundwater, leading the water out into an ocean.

The Millstone River is a 38.6-mile-long (62.1 km) tributary of the Raritan River in central New Jersey in the United States.

Hillsborough Township is a township in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 38,303, reflecting an increase of 1,669 (+4.6%) from the 36,634 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 7,826 (+27.2%) from the 28,808 counted in the 1990 Census.

Path

Royce Brook does not have a definite starting point, as it consists of several bodies of water flowing into it within its 16-square-mile (41 km²) watershed. However, the website for the Royce Brook Watershed states that it starts at the edge of Sourland Mountain at 40°30′6″N74°41′48″W / 40.50167°N 74.69667°W / 40.50167; -74.69667 .^[1]^[2] It tends to run north-east and eventually empties into the Millstone River in Manville at 40°31′51″N74°35′14″W / 40.53083°N 74.58722°W / 40.53083; -74.58722 ,^[1] which is subsequently deposited into the Raritan River.

A drainage basin is any area of land where precipitation collects and drains off into a common outlet, such as into a river, bay, or other body of water. The drainage basin includes all the surface water from rain runoff, snowmelt, and nearby streams that run downslope towards the shared outlet, as well as the groundwater underneath the earth's surface. Drainage basins connect into other drainage basins at lower elevations in a hierarchical pattern, with smaller sub-drainage basins, which in turn drain into another common outlet.

Sourland Mountain mountain in United States of America

Sourland Mountain is a 17 miles (27 km) long ridge in central New Jersey, extending from the Delaware River at Lambertville to the western end of Hillsborough Township near the community of Neshanic, through Montgomery Township and into Hopewell Township in Mercer County. It comprises the largest contiguous forest in Central Jersey, nearly 90 square miles (233 km²) in area. The highest point is only 568 feet (173 m) above sea level, but the way it rises steeply from the surrounding farmland has earned it the title of 'mountain'. The ridge itself sits within a larger area of rough terrain called The Sourlands.

The Raritan River is a major river of central New Jersey in the United States. Its watershed drains much of the mountainous area of the central part of the state, emptying into the Raritan Bay on the Atlantic Ocean.

Name

The origins of the creek's name is unknown, but there is a street that runs parallel to it in Hillsborough called, "Royce Brook Road." Also, there is a local golf club called, "The Royce Brook Golf Club."

One of the earliest settlers of Hillsborough (other than Lenape) was a man named John Royce. It is documented that during the late 17th century he owned a large piece of land. This land is pretty much what is now the entire town of Manville.

The Lenape, also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in Canada and the United States. Their historical territory included present-day New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania along the Delaware River watershed, New York City, western Long Island, and the Lower Hudson Valley. Today, Lenape people belong to the Delaware Nation and Delaware Tribe of Indians in Oklahoma; the Stockbridge-Munsee Community in Wisconsin; and the Munsee-Delaware Nation, Moravian of the Thames First Nation, and Delaware of Six Nations in Ontario.

Flooding

As with the Millstone River, the Royce Brook can flood to extreme heights. The power of Hurricane Floyd was such that it literally changed the landscape surrounding the creek and deposited much sediment into the lands surrounding it. A resident whose backyard borders Royce Brook estimates that during Hurricane Floyd, the average height in that particular area rose at least 7 feet (2.1 m) - compared to its estimated average at 1-foot (0.30 m). The majority of rainstorms with enough water erode the riverbed and deposit debris and pollution into the river.

Hurricane Floyd was a very powerful Cape Verde hurricane which struck the east coast of the United States. It was the sixth named storm, fourth hurricane, and third major hurricane in the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season. Floyd triggered the fourth largest evacuation in US history when 2.6 million coastal residents of five states were ordered from their homes as it approached. The hurricane formed off the coast of Africa and lasted from September 7 to September 19, peaking in strength as a very strong Category 4 hurricane—just 2 mph short of the highest possible rating on the Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale. It was among the largest Atlantic hurricanes of its strength ever recorded.

A storm on 15 April 2007 deposited over 7 inches (180 mm) of rain into Royce Brook, which was the most recorded since 1882. However, flooding was less severe than during Hurricane Floyd, which deposited approximately 6 to 7 inches (180 mm) of rain, and therefore resulted in less damage than the April flood.

Pollution

Royce Brook was tested for pollutants during rainstorms in July and October 2006. Tests included dissolved oxygen (DO), nitrate, phosphate, total dissolved solids, electroconductivity, temperature, and pH. It was found to have low dissolved oxygen levels and very high phosphate levels. The researcher of this project suggests that such contamination is from farms or lawns upstream which could be using soils with pesticides on them (which contain phosphates), and the phosphates will flow into Royce Brook during a rainstorm was runoff. High levels of phosphates have been documented as encouraging too many aquatic plants to grow, using dissolved oxygen from the water (limiting it to the fish), which could be the situation in Royce Brook. Additional evidence of high phosphate levels is that the pH of Royce Brook consistently tested as basic, and fertilizers tend to be basic. Also, water flowing over large stones in Royce Brook usually results in large bubbles on the surface of the water, which is usually regarded as a result of high phosphate levels.

Oxygen saturation is a relative measure of the concentration of oxygen that is dissolved or carried in a given medium as a proportion of the maximal concentration that can be dissolved in that medium. It can be measured with a dissolved oxygen probe such as an oxygen sensor or an optode in liquid media, usually water. The standard unit of oxygen saturation is percent (%).

Nitrate is a polyatomic ion with the molecular formula NO⁻
₃ and a molecular mass of 62.0049 u. Organic compounds that contain the nitrate ester as a functional group (RONO₂) are also called nitrates.

Phosphate salt or ester of phosphoric acid

A phosphate is chemical derivative of phosphoric acid. The phosphate ion is an inorganic chemical, the conjugate base that can form many different salts. In organic chemistry, a phosphate, or organophosphate, is an ester of phosphoric acid. Of the various phosphoric acids and phosphates, organic phosphates are important in biochemistry and biogeochemistry, and inorganic phosphates are mined to obtain phosphorus for use in agriculture and industry. At elevated temperatures in the solid state, phosphates can condense to form pyrophosphates.

An earlier research project was conducted in the late summer of 2004, at the same location of where the 2006 testing occurred. It tested for some of the same factors (e.g. DO, nitrate, phosphate, and pH) as the 2006 test; but was not tested during a rainstorm. There were similar results: dissolved oxygen levels were low, phosphate levels were high, and pH levels were basic (even though the pH tested as normal).

A high level of pollution exists in Royce Brook, especially rusting iron, soda cans, plastic bottles, and plastic bags which was documented in the research project of the summer 2006.

Roads and railroads

A series of roads and railroads cross over Royce Brook.

In Hillsborough

U.S. Route 206
Amwell Road
Hamilton Road
Falcon Road
Sunnymead Road
Central New York Railroad

U.S. Route 206 is a 130.23-mile-long (209.58 km) north–south United States highway in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, United States. Only about a half a mile of its length is in Pennsylvania; the Milford–Montague Toll Bridge carries it over the Delaware River into New Jersey, where it is the remainder of the route. The highway's northern terminus is near Milford, Pennsylvania at an intersection with US 209; some sources and signs show an overlap with US 209 to end at its parent route US 6. Its southern terminus is in Hammonton, New Jersey at an intersection with Route 54 and US 30. For much of its length, US 206 is a rural two-lane undivided road that passes through the Pine Barrens, agricultural areas, and the Appalachian Mountains of northwestern New Jersey, with some urban and suburban areas. The route connects several cities and towns, including Bordentown, Trenton, Princeton, Somerville, Netcong, and Newton. The road is known as the Disabled American Veterans Highway for much of its length.

The Central New York Railroad is a shortline railroad operating local freight service along ex-Southern Tier Line trackage in the U.S. states of New York and Pennsylvania. The line begins at Port Jervis, following the West Branch Delaware River to Deposit and the Susquehanna River from Lanesboro, where it crosses the Starrucca Viaduct, to Binghamton. It is a subsidiary of the Delaware Otsego Corporation, which also owns the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway, operator of through trains over the line.

In Manville

Whalen Street
South Main Street

Sister tributaries

Notes

1. ^ http://www.sbmwa.org/ws_assess_lvl2.php?id=C0_179_50

Related Research Articles

Manville is a borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 10,344, reflecting an increase of one person (+0.0%) from the 10,343 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn declined by 224 (-2.1%) from the 10,567 counted in the 1990 Census. Manville was named after the Johns-Manville Corporation, which maintained a large manufacturing facility in the borough for decades.

South Branch Raritan River river in the United States of America

The South Branch Raritan River is a 50-mile-long (80 km) tributary of the Raritan River in central New Jersey in the United States.

Stony Brook, also known as Stoney Brook, is a tributary of the Millstone River in Hunterdon and Mercer counties, New Jersey, in the United States.

Rocky Brook is a tributary of the Millstone River in Monmouth and Mercer counties, New Jersey in the United States.

Beden Brook, also Bedens Brook, Beden's Brook, or Beeden's Brook, is a tributary of the Millstone River in central New Jersey in the United States.

Stony Brook is a tributary of Green Brook in central New Jersey in the United States.

The Stony Brook Millstone Watershed Arboretum is an arboretum maintained by the nonprofit Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association. It is located at 31 Titus Mill Road, Hopewell Township, in Mercer County, New Jersey. It is open daily without charge.

County Route 533, abbreviated CR 533, is a county highway in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The highway extends 32.36 miles (52.08 km) from the White Horse Circle, in Hamilton Township to CR 527 in Bound Brook. CR 533 shares a long concurrency with U.S. Route 206 through Princeton and Montgomery Township, while portions of the roadway in Somerset County are part of the Millstone River Valley Scenic Byway.

The Rock House Reservation is a 196-acre (79 ha) open space preserve located in West Brookfield, Massachusetts. The property, acquired in 1993 by the land conservation non-profit organization The Trustees of Reservations, is named for a natural rock shelter once used as a winter camp by Native Americans.Its location near two, long Native American footpaths suggests that it may also have been a trail camp and meeting place.

Six Mile Run is a tributary of the Millstone River that drains a large area in central Franklin Township in Somerset County and as well western portions of North Brunswick and South Brunswick Townships in Middlesex County, New Jersey in the United States.

Ten Mile Run is a tributary of the Millstone River, draining an area in southern South Brunswick and southern Franklin Park, New Jersey in the United States.

Simonson Brook, also known as Sunonson Brook, is a tributary of the Millstone River in southern Franklin Park, Somerset County, New Jersey in the United States.

Heathcote Brook, also known as Heathcote Run, is a tributary of the Millstone River in central New Jersey in the United States.

Devils Brook is a tributary of the Millstone River in central New Jersey in the United States.

Cranbury Brook, also known as Cranberry Brook, is a tributary of the Millstone River in Middlesex and Monmouth Counties, New Jersey in the United States.

Little Bear Brook is a tributary of the Millstone River in Mercer County, New Jersey in the United States.

Harrys Brook, also known as the H. Greenlands Brook, is a tributary of the Millstone River in Mercer County, New Jersey in the United States.

Bear Brook is a tributary of the Millstone River in central New Jersey in the United States.

References

1 2 3 "GNIS Detail - Royce Brook". USGS. Retrieved 23 July 2010.
↑ Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed | Watershed Assessment

"Royce Brook Watershed." Stony Brook Millstone Watershed Association. 9 February 2006 . 9 Apr 2007 <http://www.sbmwa.org/ws_assess_lvl2.php?id=C0_179_50>.
(2007). Purification of Stormwater Through Use of a Detention Basin and Riprap. Somerset, New Jersey.

External links

USGS Coordinates in Google Maps

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[gnis-1] 1 2 3 "GNIS Detail - Royce Brook". USGS. Retrieved 23 July 2010.

[2] Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed | Watershed Assessment