StreamWatch training slated

Date is Sept. 12 at the Stong Brook-Millstone Watershed Association, from 1-3 p.m. Registration is required

By John Tredrea, Staff Writer
   As part of World Water Monitoring Day on Sept. 18, the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association (SB-MWA) is encouraging the public to join the effort and will be submitting its own data for inclusion in a worldwide report that illustrates how healthy our water is around the globe.
   More about this international effort can be found at www.WorldWaterMonitoringDay.org.
   One of the oldest, best-established environmental advocacy groups in this part of the country, the SB-MWA is headquartered off Titus Mill Road in central Hopewell Township.
   ”The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) only tests each waterway in the state once every five years,” SB-MWA spokeswoman Gwen McNamara said. “How do we know if our water is healthy? It’s actually the work of volunteer testing programs — like the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association’s StreamWatch program — which provide the DEP, local governments, and citizens with the vital scientific data to answer this question.”
   The association’s StreamWatch program regularly collects chemical and biological data at 40 sites in central New Jersey with the help of more than 100 dedicated volunteers. Chemical testing analyzes water samples for nitrates, phosphates, temperature, pH, turbidity, and dissolved oxygen. Biological testing includes the collection of insect samples to determine water quality.
   In addition, to better gauge the safety of waterways in central New Jersey for activities like fishing and swimming, the SB-MWA is expanding its StreamWatch program to include sampling for bacteria, Ms. McNamara said. The presence of bacteria, like fecal coliform and E. coli, in water is an indicator that other harmful pathogens may be present.
   Slated for Sept. 12 at the SB-MWA is a StreamWatch Training session, from 1-3 p.m. Registration is required.
   Contact Beth April at 737-3735, ext. 17, or [email protected] for more information or to sign up.