Irrigation dam at the Rutgers NJAES Specialty Crop Research and Extension Center in Cream Ridge, NJ. Photo: Courtesy of Rutgers IP&O.
The Rutgers NJAES Specialty Crop Research and Extension Center is one of the many off campus locations that Institutional Planning & Operations (IP&O) helps maintain at Rutgers University. Located in Cream Ridge, NJ, the facility conducts research focusing on increasing production efficiency and the protection of fruit crops from disease, including apples, strawberries, peaches and more.
Planning, Development, and Design units as well as University Facilities are in the process of completing a $4 million renovation project of an onsite dam, which the research facility uses for irrigation. Funding for this project was provided by the State Legislature to the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station as part of a larger initiative to improve NJAES off-campus research and extension facilities.
Work in progress on the dam at the Rutgers NJAES Specialty Crop Research and Extension Center in Cream Ridge, NJ. Photo: Courtesy of Rutgers IP&O.
The dam, originally built in 1968, was slated for repairs in 2002 by the state’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Dam Safety. The repairs needed were ranked as low risk, allowing Rutgers time to properly design and construct the dam. Funding was approved last year, and construction was underway in May 2024.
The process requires coordination with Rutgers, contractors, and various state agencies. Securing the proper permits, documentation, and design approvals takes years.
“The dam couldn’t exist in its current state, so we had to reconfigure the entire dam,” said Seth Richter, Supervising Senior Projects Manager for Planning, Development, and Design, and the Technical Lead Engineer on this project. “We rebuilt the primary spillway, we raised and hard armored the secondary spillway-changing the location to better reflect the flowing water, we installed one gate to be able to change the water surface elevation, and we had to dig the dam all the way down to find firm footing.”
In addition to the technical design portion of dam construction, there is much earthwork that needs to be done to make construction possible, including moving thousands of pounds of dirt, leveling land, ensuring the ground is dry enough for construction, and even relocating fish and wildlife.
Progression in the renovation of the dam at the Rutgers NJAES Specialty Crop Research and Extension Center in Cream Ridge, NJ. Photo: Courtesy of IP&O.
The dam is the first of its kind in New Jersey, using a unique system to confine sediment collection to one area, keeping water levels and surface elevation stable, and allowing for easier maintenance. In addition, the spillway has been converted from grass to concrete, fortifying the dam, which Richter believes should last for 100 years.
The research center relied on the dam for irrigation purposes. Over the past decade, however, due to the degradation of the dam, the center had to use secondary resources. With the dam renovation nearing completion, and with IP&O also upgrading the pipes and pump house system, the center will once again be able to use the dam for irrigation.
“They’ll be able to use their natural resources again as opposed to using tap water,” says Joey Kociolek, Senior Project Manager. “There’s a cost matrix, and utility water can be expensive. Utilizing the natural resources on the property will be a great benefit.”
The dam in Cream Ridge is one of seven dams on Rutgers property. Two dams have been previously renovated at the Rutgers Plant Science Research and Extension Farm in Adelphia. The next one slated for repair is located at the Philip E. Marucci Center for Blueberry and Cranberry Research and Extension in Chatsworth, NJ. Renovations of these dams ensures their utility for decades to come.
This article originally appeared in the Rutgers IP&O’s March 2025 newsletter.
