Raritan River Pathogens Report June 7, 2019
Many thanks to our great team of volunteers who dedicated their Thursday to sampling for fecal coliform and enterococci at six non-swimming beach public access sites along the Raritan River. See here for more information on our Summer 2019 monitoring program.
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 fishing and swimming in a water body. 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. Enterococci levels are often high after heavy or consistent rainfall.
Enterococci results are reported in Colony Forming Units or CFUs. Enterococci results are reported in Colony Forming Units or CFUs.
Suitable levels should not exceed 104 cfu/100mL.
Enterococcus results, times and coordinates:
| Site Name | Time sampled | Enterococcus (CFU) |
| Riverside Park (40.54067, -74.51219) | 10:01 | 800 |
| Rutgers Boathouse (40.48826, -74.43384) | 10:37 | 520 |
| Edison Boathouse (40.48769, -74.38409) | 11:05 | 250 |
| Ken Buchannan Waterfront Park(40.47483, -74.35586) | 11:43 | 46 |
| South Amboy Waterfront Park(40.48334, -74.2698) | 12:13 | 15 |
| 2nd Street Park (49.50007, -74.27719) | 12:41 | 150 |
TNTC stands for Too Numerous To Count , or >60,000. Please note that these results are in colony forming units (CFU), not MPN. These results are preliminary and pending Quality Control.
