On a Tuesday afternoon at the end of September, a group of officials holding fishing rods lined up at Newton Lake Park to open seven new piers. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer's account of the opening, Oaklyn Borough Council President Nancy MacGregor landed the catch of the day. It was a four-inch fish, and Camden County Commissioner Director Louis Cappelli Jr. unhooked it and tossed it back. Cappelli fished in this park as a kid.
It was a small fish on a big day for the lake. The 1930s piers that came out this year sat on a lake that, a few years ago, was two feet deep or less in places. The new ones sit on a lake that was dredged back to about five feet. They sit higher than the old piers, and the firm that oversaw the project expects them to last half a century. They're the first piece of Newton Lake's long restoration that you can stand on, and how useful they stay depends on the deeper water holding.
The lake before the piers
Before the restoration, the problem was mud. The Inquirer reported in January 2023 that silt had left parts of the lake two feet deep or shallower. Spatterdock had spread across the surface, fish numbers had dropped, and boats could no longer get through.
The county and the Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority launched the dredging project in August 2020. It covered Newton Lake, Peter's Creek and two nearby ponds. Camden County put the cost of the dredging at $23 million and financed it through the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust, with a bond repaid over 30 years at less than 1% interest. The Inquirer's reporting gives a $25 million original projection. The two numbers come from different stages of the project, so each belongs to its own source.
By January 2023 the dredge was done. The Inquirer reported that crews removed about 217,000 cubic yards of material. Roughly 40,000 cubic yards of that was contaminated with arsenic. The work brought the lake back to a depth of about five feet.
Most of that work was invisible from the park's 2.43 miles of bike paths. Walkers might have noticed open water where spatterdock used to be. Everything else had happened underwater.
| When | What happened at Newton Lake |
|---|---|
| August 2020 | County and CCMUA launch the dredging project |
| July 1, 2021 | Dredging resumes, per the county |
| January 2023 | County says the project is "out of the water" |
| March 2024 | Inquirer reports sediment still flowing in from upstream |
| April 18, 2026 | Groundbreaking on $1.3 million in pier replacements |
| Sept. 29, 2026 | Seven new piers officially open |
Higher piers over deeper water
The piers are where the restoration finally comes up to the shoreline. Camden County's April groundbreaking announcement described a $1.3 million project. It replaced seven piers with new ADA-compliant concrete ones and included path repairs to give each pier an accessible route. The release also set the project in context: the $25 million water quality project finished in 2023, and two playgrounds in the park were renovated over the past two years.
According to the Inquirer, the new piers sit 6 to 8 inches higher than the old ones so they stay usable when Newton Lake rises. The project was paid for with open space funds. Jeremy Noll's firm, Environmental Resolutions Inc. of Mount Laurel, oversaw it. Noll told the Inquirer he expects the piers to last 50 years, though the decking may need replacing after about 20.
So a pier opened this fall could still be in use in the 2070s, with a new deck sometime around the mid-2040s. A pier over two feet of silt and spatterdock doesn't give an angler much, but a pier over five feet of open water does.
At the opening, Cappelli described the piers as "safer, stronger, and fully ADA compliant, making sure residents of all abilities can enjoy fishing, spend time along the water, or simply enjoy everything Newton Lake has to offer," as quoted by the Inquirer.
Where the seven piers are
The park covers 103 acres along Cuthbert Boulevard and crosses three municipalities: Collingswood, Haddon Township and Oaklyn. The county lists the new piers by cross street:
- Johnson Avenue and Lakeview Avenue
- Colford Avenue and Lakeview Drive
- East Bettlewood Avenue and Merrick Avenue
- East Bettlewood Avenue
- South Newton Lake Drive
- East Clinton Avenue and Oaklawn Avenue
- Newton Lake Playground
The rules that come with them
The piers are free to use. Newton Lake holds several kinds of fish, including largemouth bass and catfish. The Inquirer reports that, according to the county, fishing here is strictly catch-and-release and the fish are not safe to eat. The four-inch fish going back into the water at the ribbon cutting was simply following the house rule.
For anyone bringing a rod, the New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife's freshwater license page lays out the state rules:
- Anglers 16 and older generally need a freshwater fishing license.
- Children can fish without one through Dec. 31 of the year they turn 16. The requirement starts the following Jan. 1.
- New Jersey residents 70 and older are exempt.
- Nonresidents 16 and older need a license.
This is general information, not legal advice. Check the state's page for your own situation before you cast a line.
What still has to happen above the waterline
The piers are done, but the restoration isn't. Noll told the Inquirer that the next phase is improved paths near the piers. Some will be raised so they stop flooding with mud in heavy rain, a problem with the current paths. For now, the new piers are reached by the same paths that turn muddy after a storm.
A bigger issue sits upstream. In March 2024, the Inquirer reported that sediment was still washing into the lake and stormwater management was still unsettled. It also reported that the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection had raised concerns about the upstream design. The fixes under discussion then included rain gardens, swales and underground collection structures. They were proposals, not finished work.
The dredge only lasts as long as new silt stays out, and a pier is only as useful as the water under it. As of that 2024 report, the upstream controls that protect that depth were still open questions.
Why the piers matter beyond fishing
At the opening, Olivia Liu, program and communications director for the nonprofit Upstream Alliance, put the project in everyday terms. "This project here today isn't just about catching fish," she said, according to the Inquirer. "It's about improving people's quality of life and creating fun, engaging, and meaningful outdoor experiences right in their own backyard."
The next projects to watch are the raised paths to those piers and the upstream work that keeps the lake from silting up again.
At The Colleen Hadden Group, we love sharing the places that make daily life here feel like home, and Newton Lake's new piers are a great reason for a fall walk this weekend. If you or someone you know is thinking about a move near the lake, we'd be glad to show you around in person on a guided town tour.
