By LRWP Monitoring Outreach Coordinator Jocelyn Palomino

On Thursday May 23, the Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership and Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Middlesex County kicked-off the 2024 Summer Pathogens Monitoring Program! This volunteer-based program runs from May to October and takes place every Thursday monitoring 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 on Friday afternoons. We are looking forward to sharing our data with the community and partners to ensure the safe use of the Raritan river for all.

Unfortunately, the beginning of our 2024 season was cut short due to heavy rains and lightning, and we only collected 3 of 6 samples during our first run. Lab results for water quality samples taken on May 23, 2023 show that Enterococcus bacteria levels do not exceed the EPA federal water quality standard at the three upstream sites we collected at this week. Green smiles on the chart and map indicate sites with bacteria levels below the standard safe for recreation which only includes three sites this week: Riverside Park (Piscataway), Rutgers Boathouse (New Brunswick) and Edison Boat Ramp (Edison).

Please note that two of our samples were taken prior to the rain event (Riverside Park and Rutgers Boathouse), and keep in mind that the Raritan River receives significant stormwater runoff during rain events, often contributing to pollutant loading in our waterways.

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 decide to recreate on the Raritan this Memorial Day Weekend, please do so safely and be sure to wash thoroughly after all activities!

BIG thanks to Sofi Grossman and Frank Dahl, our first volunteers of 2024! Thanks also to Interstate Environmental Commission Intern Ruby Alcorn and IEC Environmental Analyst Samantha Wilder for coming out to help kick things off! Photo credit: Maya Fenyk

Our team collecting samples and data as the rainfall started early Thursday morning. The rain couldn’t stop us, but lightning could! Photo credit: Heather Fenyk

Our Quality Assurance Protocol Plan (QAPP) requires us to conduct pre and post-calibration of the monitoring equipment to ensure that our YSI is reading parameters, like pH and salinity, as accurately as possible. We use Project Coordinator Jocelyn Palomino’s car trunk as a makeshift lab. Photo credit: Heather Fenyk