Science and Water Quality Update Fall 2024

 

Reaching Milestones for Rally for Two Rivers

In July, COA’s Rally for Two Rivers program celebrated a full year of weekly ambient bacteria monitoring of the Navesink River watershed since the program’s initial relaunch. This October, we completed one year of biweekly water quality monitoring of the Shrewsbury River.

All data collected from RTR’s community science monitoring helps move toward the achievement of the Rally goal to “find, fix, and eliminate” sources of pathogen pollution, including human sources, in the Two Rivers watershed.

This October, COA held our most recent community scientist training at the Shrewsbury Sailing and Yacht Club in Oceanport. Attendees learned about the history of the program and how to collect proper water samples to be analyzed for pathogen pollution indicator bacteria.

Community members interested in getting involved in RTR weekly and biweekly sampling can email programs@cleanoceanaction.org for more information about upcoming trainings.

Rallying in Red Bank

In July and August, COA’s water quality team engaged the Red Bank community by hosting a community science training at The Atrium and a school supplies drive for Lunch Break, a local non-profit. At the Atrium, residents and community members were instructed in water quality testing procedures and methods for the RTR program.

For the program’s efforts with Lunch Break, the COA community donated 212 items, ranging from backpacks to binders, notebooks, folders, and pencil pouch essentials. The items were provided to students in Red Bank at Lunch Break’s annual picnic and softball classic to support the education of our future leaders of tomorrow!

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Dipping into Deal Lake

COA’s water quality team kicked off this October by conducting Phase III sampling and bacteria monitoring focused on narrowing down upstream sources of pathogen pollution in Deal Lake. The project continues COA’s efforts, in collaboration with the Deal Lake Commission, to trace sources of pathogen pollution in Deal Lake since 2017.

The Phase III investigation is an expansion of the earlier Phase I canine ship-and-sniff tests and Phase II laboratory investigations that had been completed by COA to identify sources of pathogen pollution, including likely human sources from stormwater runoff in the watershed.

Under this Phase III study, select upstream locations were identified for targeted monitoring of fecal indicator bacteria. In October, water samples from these sites were collected in ambient conditions with the help of DLC community scientists trained by COA. The collected samples were analyzed for fecal indicator bacteria in COA’s in-house lab. These results were shared with DLC for evaluation and discussion of next steps, which could include wet weather monitoring.

Looking to catch up with COA’s water quality team? Follow the Rally for the Waterways on social media, or reach out to staff.

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Water Quality Intern Update

At the end of August, we said farewell to Lara Thaner, our water quality intern who joined us this summer in the office, lab, field, and community to assist with our Rally for Two Rivers (RTR) program. Lara supported the RTR program through collecting samples, prepping community science supplies, and lending a hand at our summer events such as Ecofest, community science trainings, and our June public meeting.

After completing her summer internship, Lara shared that one of her favorite parts of the summer was being able to interact directly with community members to share the work of RTR. At the conclusion of her internship, Lara shared a quote that stood out and inspired us all:
“What good is data if you can’t explain it in an understandable way and get it to the people that need it?”

We couldn’t agree more! We wish Lara the best of luck as she finishes up her senior year at the University of Rhode Island, where she is currently double majoring in Environmental Science and Management and Geology.