Monmouth

Contact Us:
Brookdale Community College
brookdale@njwaterwatch.org
Lisa Williams
Warner SLC, Room 109
765 Newman Springs Road
Lincroft, NJ 07738
732-224-1845

Monmouth University
monmouth@njwaterwatch.org
Sean Foran
400 Cedar Ave., 322 Rebecca Stafford Student Center
Long Branch, NJ
732-923-4648
732-379-0752 (cell)

Sign up to Volunteer at our 3rd Annual Earth Day Cleanup of the Navesink & Swimming Rivers right here in Monmouth County on Sunday, April 19th.

Water Watch in Monmouth County

Anyone who has been to the Shore knows that Monmouth County has its share of water quality problems. We see trash and other questionable materials like syringes on our beaches, but the vast majority of contaminants comes from unknown sources. The contamination is varied and comes from things like litter, trash, cigarette butts, agricultural and residential wastes like fertilizers and pesticides, and runoff from roadways like oil and grease. Also, development, sprawl, and natural resource management add to the widespread problems affecting the county.

The major rivers in Monmouth County are the Navesink River, Shrewsbury River, Shark River, and Manasquan River. The County also has two major reservoirs - the Swimming River Reservoir and Manasquan River Reservoir. The county is home to Sandy Hook and its Bay, numerous coastal lakes, and an expansive shoreline. All together, our county has more waterways than any other county in the state.

Monmouth County is comprised of 6 Watershed Management Areas, but Area 12 is the predominant one in Monmouth County. Area 12, also known as the Monmouth Coastal Watershed, is subdivided into 6 sub-watershed regions: the North Coast, Mid-Coast, South Coast, Navesink, Bayshore and Manasquan. To find out more about the Regional Watersheds, please visit http://www.shore.co.monmouth.nj.us/area12/.

Water Watch students and community members have been a part of stream-monitoring efforts looking for bacteria and other water quality problems that dramatically affect the health of waterways and also directly impact larger rivers and the shore. The contaminants that we look for can cause illnesses like ear aches, soar throats, urinary tract infections, and fever. Certain beaches that are near the outlet pipes of these waterways experience beach closings due to high bacteria levels that are caused when heavy rains flush contaminants out of our fresh waterways. By monitoring, increasing awareness of what causes contamination, and getting communities to take action, these situations and their effects can eventually be corrected and prevented.

New Jersey Community Water Watch is working with students at Brookdale Community College and Monmouth University to monitor local waterways, clean beaches and rivers, and teach adults and children in the community about non-point source pollution. The students at both colleges have plans to help with the recent hurricane disaster by assisting with efforts in the Gulf Coast over their Spring Break. Also, we are planning on coordinating the efforts of several organizations in the community. It's an exciting time to be involved with Water Watch in Monmouth County - there is a lot of work to be done and it's a great community atmosphere to accomplish that work.

If you want to get involved please contact us at the information listed above, or come to one of our events or meetings.