By LRWP Monitoring Outreach Coordinator Jocelyn Palomino

The Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership and Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Middlesex County run a volunteer pathogens monitoring program from May to September every Summer. On Thursdays we collect water quality samples at 6 non-bathing public access beaches along the Raritan River, provide our samples to the Interstate Environmental Commission lab for analysis, and report the results on Friday afternoons. Our water quality results for July 28, 2022 indicate high levels of Enterococcus at both our most upstream site at Riverside Park in Piscataway, and at our most downstream site at Perth Amboy 2nd Street Park. These are indicated by red frowns on the map and chart.

The “green smileys” on the map and chart for all other sites mean pathogen levels were below the federal quality standard for recreation at these locations. Suitable levels for primary contact should not exceed 104 cfu/100mL. Per the EPA, Pathogens/Enterococci levels are used as indicators of the possible presence of disease-causing bacteria in recreational waters. Possible sources of bacteria include Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs), improperly functioning wastewater treatment plants, stormwater runoff, leaking septic systems, animal carcasses, and runoff from manure storage areas. Such pathogens may pose health risks to people fishing and swimming in a water body. If you choose to recreate on the Raritan this weekend, stay safe and be sure to wash your hands!

As always, many thanks to the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Middlesex County and Interstate Environmental Commission for their partnership, and to our great group of volunteers this week! See here for more information on our pathogens monitoring program.

Our volunteers Frank and Julisa helping Jocelyn document observations at our Piscataway monitoring site, Photo Credit: Andrew Gehman

At our Piscataway and Rutgers locations, we noticed algal blooms, a sign of warmer summer temperatures, Photo Credits: Andrew Gehman

It appears that some younger residents were out enjoying the South Amboy Waterfront over the week, leaving a small sandcastle along the path to our monitoring location, Photo Credits: Andrew Gehman

Our volunteer Andrew was able to capture this photo of our monitoring crew near the Perth Amboy CSO, while he was out in the water catching samples, Photo Credit: Andrew Gehman