By Danielle Bongiovanni and J.M. Meyer

The first pathogen monitoring session of the month took place on Thursday, August 8th. Each week during the summer, from May to October, the Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership and Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Middlesex County run a volunteer-based monitoring program along the Raritan River. We collect water quality samples at six non-bathing public access beach sites, provide our samples to the Interstate Environmental Commission for analysis in their laboratory, and report the results to the public. Our mission is to share this data with the community and partners to ensure the safe use of the Raritan river for all.

This week, we were so pleased that Piscataway Council Members Laura Leibowitz and Sarah Rashid joined us for our monitoring session at Riverside Park. Ultimately, we’ll need the help of talented leaders like Laura and Sarah in order to find ways of solving the challenges presented by non-point pollutants in our community.

Our lab results for water quality samples taken on Thursday, August 8, 2025 show Enterococcus bacteria levels exceeding the EPA federal water quality standard of 104 cfu/100mL at two of our monitoring sites this week. Problem sites would be indicated by red frowns on the map and chart which includes: Riverside Park (Piscataway) and Rutgers Boat House (New Brunswick). Green smiles on the chart and map indicate the sites with bacteria levels safe for recreation, and include the following: Edison Boat Launch (Edison Township), Ken Buchanan Waterfront Park (Sayreville), Raritan Bay Waterfront Park (South Amboy), and 2nd Street Park (Perth Amboy).

Sampling in New Brunswick was conducted 100m further downstream than usual, at the Boyd Park boat ramp instead of Rutgers Boat House. The water at the ramp is stagnant and immediately downstream of an outfall, and those factors may have contributed to the unusually high amount of Enterococci recorded at LR2 this week.

Pathogens/Enterococci levels are used as indicators of the possible presence of disease-causing bacteria in recreational waters. Such pathogens may pose health risks to people coming in primary contact with the water (touching) through recreational activities like fishing, kayaking or swimming in a water body. 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.

Our goal in reporting these results is to give residents a better understanding of the potential health risks related to primary contact during water-based recreation. If you are planning on recreating on the Raritan this weekend, make sure to stay safe and wash up after any activities!