Camden

Contact Us:
Becky Potts
Campus Center Room 331
Rutgers - Camden
856-225-6175

The city of Camden lies along the western banks of the Delaware River, facing old city Philadelphia. This location helped Camden rise as a commercial center during the 1800s and well into the next century. As a result, the city was home to one of the nations first major railways. Its shipyards built awe-inspiring ships, including the first nuclear powered submarine. Camden's factories produced a vast array of products including textiles, chemicals, iron and steel, lumber, and automobile parts, not to mention canned soup and recorded sounds. (Camden is the birthplace of renowned companies RCA and Campbell's Soups.) Throughout this time, area waterways were heavily used for waste disposal, transportation, and water supply. The city hit its peak economically and population-wise in the 1950s. But, the social, political, and economic forces that marred cites across the nation, dealt a crippling blow to the city of Camden.

Camden stands in contrast to its past vitality. While the city still has it's fair share of polluters, large-scale industry has become obsolete. Dilapidated structures, tainted soil, polluted airways, and degraded waters provide a harsh reminder of what was. Today, the city is home to 80,000 people, a Rutgers University campus, the New Jersey State Aquarium, the Camden River Sharks minor league baseball team, and 20 superfund sites. Many have combined efforts to revitalize the area, but the process has only just begun to reverse the negative economic and environmental impacts.

New Jersey Community Water Watch has been running clean water and community outreach programs in the Camden area since 1994. The program focuses on the area's 3 main waterways: the Delaware River, Cooper River, and Newton Creek. Needless to say, these rivers and streams are severely impaired.

The water quality problems are a result of municipal and industrial discharge, combined with the effects of both agricultural and urban storm water run off. Forms of non-point source pollution such as pesticides from lawns and oil from streets and parking lots drain into our lakes, rivers, and streams, during ran events. It is not often realized that these non-point source pollutants pose a huge threat to the health of our waterways. In fact, the DEP has issued an advisory stating that all fish, shellfish, and crustaceans taken from Camden waters not be eaten due to chlordane contamination. Chlordane, a chemical found in pesticides, is known to damage the liver and central nervous system. This is the strictest warning of its kind in the state. Area waters are also under advisory for industry related toxins: dioxin, PCBs, and mercury. All of which have detrimental health effects.

New Jersey Community Water Watch works to promote awareness of these water quality problems and the effects. The program has partnered with various community groups to participate in neighborhood revitalization programs. The Camden Water Watch chapter has educated 12,000 students, set up volunteer monitoring programs, and pulled over 90 tons of trash out of area waters.

The program continues to educate area residents about the importance of their environment and water quality in hopes of promoting local stewardship and encouraging community involvement. New Jersey Community Water Watch looks forward to lending a helping hand in a city's rebirth.