Dear Friends of the Lower Raritan Watershed -
Our pathogens monitoring program made the news! Star Ledger, Home News, Targum, PerthAmboyNow, TapIntoSomerville, and Patch all reported on our data. We're not thrilled with the Star Ledger headline (scroll down for image), but we'll take sensationalism if it prompts action to clean up the Raritan :)
Our monitoring program is designed to provide the public with water quality info so they can make informed choices about whether to fish, kayak, swim or otherwise recreate around the water. We post "snapshots" of water quality data captured 1x weekly for a very changeable body of water. It is true that bacteria numbers (enterococci) for recent weeks are not what we would want to see, but we don't yet have the whole story. We have 2 more weeks of monitoring, then will start the work of analysis. In addition to poor management or our urban landscape (including neglected sewage infrastructure), we expect seasonal, tidal and off-shore influences to tell a fuller story of impacts.
Of course we all play a role in reducing bacteria levels in our waters. Want to know how you can help improve water quality? For starters, minimize or remove hard surfaces on your property, avoid using fertilizers or pesticides on lawns, mow less frequently or choose native plants over lawns, increase riparian buffers around streams and rivers, and work to improve habitat connectivity. See our Community Resources for Water Quality Database for a great set of watershed-friendly how-tos.
Lots of events scheduled through the end of 2019, including a Facebook Live demo of pathogens monitoring, two clean-ups in October (see below), and a Monmouth Battlefield-area watershed walk.
See you in the watershed,
Heather Fenyk, President
Lower Raritan Watershed Partnership
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