Kazmar Pond Dam Removal, One Year Later

The Kazmar Pond dam once held back the water of an unnamed tributary of the Waywayanda Creek in Hewitt, New Jersey. But today, that stream flows freely through the forested hills and meadows of Waywayanda State Park. Surrounded by broadleaf cattail and other native wetland plants, the water bubbles along a stony course through an open meadow where trees have yet to take root.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Dam Safety freed the tributary. They decided to remove the six-foot concrete dam after inspections revealed dangerous conditions and the costly repairs needed.

Drone Use is Essential in Environmental Services Photography

While on-the-ground pictures show detail, the aerial perspective, above, tells a story that simply shooting from on the ground cannot. Although the land around the creek has started to fill in with plants, the edge of the woods still describes where the pond had been. With one picture and a lot of context (surrounding forest and hills), I can show the stream and the “ghost” of the pond.  

The ground-level view gives you different information: rock placement, the feeling of open sky and meadow. You can almost hear the wings of the dragonflies. 

A ground-level view of the meadow created by removing the dam at Kazmar Pond in Waywayanda State Park. Cattails and other native plant species now fill in the former pond bed. 

With Kazmar Pond gone, the site of the dam remains a sweet place to pause along the Appalachian Trail in the park. Forested hills rise up from all sides of the new meadow; a few large rocks offer a place to sit for awhile. And if you’re hiking, and you’re tired, and it’s getting late, you can find a friendly, woodsy place to spend the night…

A newly-built lean-to in Waywayanda State Park serves hikers overnighting on the Appalachian Trail. The shelter sits near the site of Kazmar Pond.