Funding for the lake has stayed low as conditions have kept deteriorating, lake advocates say Watch video
UPDATE: This story has been updated to include comments from the state Department of Environmental Protection.
LAKE HOPATCONG -- With conditions at Lake Hopatcong deteriorating to the point where "some areas are no longer navigable," advocates say, they are petitioning the state for more funding in 2016.
"This past season was the worst in terms of weeds," said Jessica Murphy, president of the private, non-profit Lake Hopatcong Foundation.
Scientists who wanted to conduct a study of the bottom of the lake "couldn't do it" in 2015 because the weeds were too thick, Murphy said.
Meanwhile, state funding for the state-owned lake has continued to drop each year, with just $155,000 appropriated for the weed harvest in 2015, Murphy said.
Martin Kane, the foundation's chairman, said the weed harvester did less work than in the past and didn't make it to the northern end of the lake until late August -- essentially ruining the summer season for people in that area.
The petition, posted at the website Change.org, asks the state Assembly and Senate to allocate $500,000 for the management of the lake, the amount deemed necessary in a Save the Lake campaign in 2000, according to adovcates. As of Thursday afternoon, 1,143 people had signed the petition.
"In the grand scheme of the state budget, it's not an extreme amount," Murphy said.
Fred Steinbaum, a member of the Lake Hopatcong Commission, which still exists but no longer receives state funding, said that back in 2002, two years after the commission was founded, it received a total of $750,000 from the state, which also included money for staff and clean-water studies as well as the weed harvesting.
The commission had been in charge of the weed harvesting, but the state eliminated monies for the commission in 2012 and took over the harvesting in a cost-cutting move supported by Gov. Chris Christie.
The cutback in weed harvesting has "reversed" what had been a gradual improvement in water quality at the lake, the petition says.
With park employees working for the Department of Environmental Protection managing the lake, the larger appropriation would allow a more extensive cleanup and more weed removal, Murphy said.
"It's a business resource, it's a recreational resource and it deserves attention by the state," Murphy said, noting Hopatcong is New Jersey's largest lake.
With the annual budget discussions just getting under way, "we felt the urgency" and wanted to get a head start on conveying that idea to state officials, Murphy said.
"Our local legislators have been great supporters," Murphy added. "We want to give them the ammunition they need."
Assemblyman Anthony M. Bucco (R-Morris), whose district includes lake communities, said local legislators' requests for funds each year for the lake have not been met, with the state ultimately cutting the allocation.
In recent years, he said, the requests have typically been "between $400,000 and $500,000," with the most recent appropriation coming in at $155,000.
Bucco said he supports the petition and will again seek more funding.
"That lake is very important and it needs to be maintained," Bucco said. "The state really should take responsibility for it."
Larry Hajna, a spokesman for the DEP, said the agency would like to expand the weed removal program, but acknowledged it has no control over its budget.
"We have met with the towns and counties around the lake and have asked for their support in order to have a more robust program," Hajna said.
Last year, he noted, both Jefferson Township and the Lake Hopatcong Foundation provided additional support, so that the 10-week program was extended to 12 weeks. Murphy, the foundation president, said the foundation provided $15,000, and Jefferson gave $10,000, to extend the weed harvest.
"We pulled more weeds from the lake than in past seasons," Hajna said.
The problem last year, Hajna said, was "drought-like conditions which kept the lake from reaching full pool, exacerbating weed growth."
Ben Horowitz may be reached at bhorowitz@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @HorowitzBen. Find NJ.com on Facebook.