By LRWP Monitoring Outreach Coordinator Jocelyn Palomino

Every Thursday 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. During the summer, 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. Our mission is to share this data with the community and partners to ensure the safe use of the Raritan river for all.

After the intense rainfall we received on Wednesday night, lab results for our water quality samples taken on Thursday August 29, 2024 show Enterococcus bacteria levels exceeding the EPA federal water quality standard of 104 cfu/100mL at FOUR of our monitoring sites during this Labor Day weekend. Problem sites are indicated by red frowns on the map and chart which includes: Riverside Park (Piscataway), Rutgers Boathouse (New Brunswick), Edison Boat Basin (Edison) and 2nd Street Park (Perth Amboy). Green smiles on the chart and map indicate the sites with bacteria levels safe for recreation, which include: Ken Buchanan Waterfront Park (Edison) and South Amboy Waterfront Park (South Amboy).

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 stormwater runoff, Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs), improperly functioning wastewater treatment plants, 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 choose to spend your holiday weekend recreating on the Raritan, please be sure to take all safety precautions into consideration and wash up after enjoying any activities!

Our visual habitat assessments recorded large amounts of debris at a majority of our sites, from the rain and lightning in the area the night before, Photo Credit: Jocelyn Palomino

Beautiful weather on Thursday morning after Wednesday’s aftermath, quite a few people were out enjoying the outdoors- including a local artist who was at the Edison Boat Basin painting the scenery. Photo Credit: Jocelyn Palomino

Irene Riegner spotted a number of avian wildlife flying over the Raritan with her binoculars on Thursday morning. From cormorants to great blue herons- we saw it all yesterday! Photo Credit: Jocelyn Palomino

Our volunteers are essential to providing the community with a weekly status of the Raritan’s water quality, thank you to Nibav Velan and Irene Riegner for joining us in the field this week! Photo Credit: Jocelyn Palomino (left) and Irene Riegner (right)