By Joseph Sapia
The state Department of Environmental Protection has begun what it calls a “comprehensive study looking at ways to address diminishing water quality” in the Navesink River.
The DEP announced last week it is teaming up with various stakeholders, including local governments and the Sandy Hook-based Clean Ocean Action (COA) environmental group, to conduct water sampling during heavy rains over the next several months. The idea is to identify pollution sources as they drain into the river.
Meanwhile, this week, COA released a 77-page report nearly a year in the making, “Pathogen Pollution in the Navesink River, Addressing Fecal Contamination in the Navesink River Watershed.” The fecal contamination is believed to be caused by humans through faulty public sewerage and septic systems, along with animals – domestic, livestock and wildlife – through storm water drainage.
Other pollution threats to the Navesink River watershed, according to those concerned, include petroleum products, pesticides and fertilizers, along with the water having depleted oxygen levels.
Neither is news in itself – the DEP had already talked weeks ago about starting its study and the COA report points to the usual suspects. But, according to COA’s report, “Most importantly, the report hopes to create a call to action to reverse the trend.”
“We need to get the entire community involved,” said Cindy Zipf, COA’s executive director. “We need to rally for the Navesink.”
And this call to action combines a partnership between players – government, environmental groups and the general public – that do not always work well together.
“I think it’s been done before, but I don’t think it’s been done enough,” said Brian Rice, chairman of the newly re-established Navesink River Municipalities Committee, a combination of municipal government and citizen representatives from, so far, Red Bank, Fair Haven, Rumson and Middletown.
“We have to work together,” said Rice, 47, of Fair Haven, who represents a fourth generation living along the river. “It’s not a blame game.”
“We’re trying to collaborate together,” said Bob Schuster, interim director of the DEP Bureau of Marine Water Quality Monitoring. “More boots on the ground in a local area.”
Schuster said local groups have an advantage, to be a able to reach out to the public in their locales. He said the mix of partners is important because the problem is essentially nonpoint-source pollution, that is, contamination from various sources.
“It takes a large effort,” Schuster said. “It needs the involvement with a lot of people.”
Zipf, Schuster and Rice, for example, were among 100 or so in attendance, representing the public and private sectors, attending a “Rally for the Navesink” Tuesday, June 28, at Bingham Hall in Rumson. But the effort to restore the Navesink River watershed has been a work in progress, going beyond the rally.
There is somewhat of a desperation to clean the approximately 95-square-mile river watershed that covers seven municipalities – Colts Neck, Middletown, Tinton Falls, Red Bank, Fair Haven, Rumson and Sea Bright – and combines ecology, a drinking water source, and recreational and commercial uses. For example, in January, the DEP further restricted shellfishing in about 550 acres downstream – limiting harvesting to the east of the Oceanic Bridge and, now, the DEP says this could be expanded if deterioration of water quality continues.
While “there are lots of nonpoint-source problems,” fecal contamination is the one that basically has resulted in the downgrading of the river, Zipf said. And, while this recent emphasis is on fecal contamination, the DEP continues to routinely test for other problems, such as nutrient overload and algae, Schuster said.
Because of the high standard placed on allowing shellfish harvesting, it is considered a good barometer for water quality – both in terms of ecological quality and for human safety against sickness.
“If it’s safe for shellfish, it’s good for swimming,” Zipf said.
“While the river remains safe for boating, we need to find out why we are seeing increasing levels of bacteria in the water,” said DEP Commissioner Bob Martin. “A healthy river is vital to the quality of life, economy and recreational opportunities for the communities that surround the Navesink.”
COA has reported the river unsafe for swimming and paddling after it rains because of the flow of contaminants in the river.
As for the new COA report – authored by Zachary Lees, the group’s coastal and ocean lawyer – “it’s a primer for what’s ailing the Navesink River,” Zipf said.
“We hope it will give everybody from public to (government) officials an understanding,” Lees said.
In early June, the DEP began its project of Navesink River Watershed testing. During rainy periods, a number of samples are being collected from the Swimming River Reservoir to the Oceanic Bridge.
Sampling will be done pre-rainstorm, then with the first rush of water draining from the storm, an hour after the first rush, and two hours after the first rush, Schuster said. This allows for comparisons to be made of pollutants.
Schuster said he expected the testing to go on “for at least a year.”
“It depends what we find,” Schuster said. “It’s an ongoing process. We’ll be in it as long as we are finding sources to be fixed and (that) can be fixed.”
Data from the early June testing is being analyzed, Schuster said. He noted that information gathered will be released on an ongoing basis to tackle problems, rather than waiting for sampling to be completed and information to be released in a final report.
“Let’s do it as you go along,” Schuster said.
One component of tracking pollution sources COA plans to use is bringing in dogs to sniff out problems. The Maine-based Environmental Canine Services is to start working in the area later this summer, Zipf said. Karen Reynolds, an owner of Environmental Canine Services, said the dogs can immediately determine problems, not having to waiting lengthy periods for laboratory testing.
From about 1995 to 2005, the Navesink River was a success story in grappling with pollution. For example, sewer systems were improved, so there would be less drainage of fecal matter. But, in the 2005-2006 period, the DEP started shutting down shellfishing areas.
“There have been nearly 40 years of efforts to address fecal contamination in the Navesink, including victories and setbacks,” Lees said. “Unfortunately, the last decade has seen a trend in deteriorating water quality in the Navesink due to high levels of fecal contamination indicating bacteria.”
Now, it is a wait-and-see game to see what the testing shows.
“Understanding and addressing this situation is going to take a lot of teamwork,” said Dan Kennedy, DEP assistant commissioner for water resources management. “The DEP has been working for months to bring in stakeholders, explain the issue and enlist volunteers to help in this collaborative effort, which will involve taking thousands of water samples and mapping the results to look for trends and possible sources.”
COA said in its report eight other private groups have joined in to lend support: American Littoral Society, Bayshore Regional Water Council, Hartshorne Woods Association, Monmouth Conservation Foundation, Navesink Maritime Heritage Association, Navesink Shrewsbury River Fishing Club, New York-New Jersey Baykeeper and the state chapter of the Recreational Fishing Alliance.
“We want to make it safe for swimming and clamming,” Zipf said.
