LONG-TERM AMBIENT WATER QUALITY MONITORING OF THE NEW JERSEY PORTION OF THE NY/NJ HARBOR by the NEW JERSEY HARBOR DISCHARGERS GROUP (NJHDG)

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1 LONG-TERM AMBIENT WATER QUALITY MONITORING OF THE NEW JERSEY PORTION OF THE NY/NJ HARBOR by the NEW JERSEY HARBOR DISCHARGERS GROUP (NJHDG) Ashley T. Pengitore - PVSC NJ Water Monitoring Council Meeting USGS NJ Water Science Center West Trenton, NJ Wednesday, February 3, 2010

2 Who is the New Jersey Harbor Dischargers Group? 9 Sewerage Agencies, consisting of 11 Wastewater Treatment Plants discharging to the NY/NJ Harbor Estuary and treating 614 MGD of wastewater Bergen County Utilities Authority now includes Edgewater Municipal Utilities Authority Joint Meeting of Essex and Union Counties Linden Roselle Sewerage Authority Middlesex County Utilities Authority North Bergen Municipal Utilities Authority North Hudson Sewerage Authority Passaic Valley Sewerage Commissioners Rahway Valley Sewerage Authority Secaucus Municipal Utilities Authority

3 Initial Program - PVSC Initiated June 2000 Modeled after NYCDEP Harbor Survey Completely Volunteer Effort No outside funding Not mandated in any permit Goals: Provide information on ambient water quality for conventional pollutants Document seasonal changes Document improvements resulting from implementation of pollution control programs Validate water quality model results

4 Initial Program - PVSC 17 Monitoring Sites Passaic River Newark Bay Hackensack River Monthly Sampling

5 NJHDG Harbor Monitoring Program In 2003, expanded geographic reach with NJHDG to cover NJ portion of NY/NJ Harbor Estuary (33 Monitoring Sites) To foster appropriate regulatory decisions based on current water quality measurements To collectively utilize the agencies resources to best meet water quality objectives for the Harbor

6 L o c a t i o n s

7 L o c a t i Red = NJHDG sites Black = NYCDEP sites o n s

8 Parameters Measured Temperature Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN) ph Ammonia-Nitrogen (NH 3 -N) Salinity Nitrate (NO 3 ) Dissolved Oxygen (DO) Nitrite (NO 2 ) Secchi Depth Total Phosphorous (TP) Total Suspended Solids (TSS) Orthophosphate (OP) Fecal Coliform Bacteria 5-day Carbonaceous Enterococcus Bacteria * Biochemical Oxygen Demand E.Coli Bacteria ** (CBOD-5) Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) Chlorophyll-a * *Analyses initiated in 2007 **Analysis to be initiated in 2010

9 Sampling Fleet SAMPLING VESSEL MOBILE LAB

10 Sampling Procedure Grab samples collected at each location

11 Analytical Approach DO, ph, Temp, Salinity, Secchi depth measured in-situ All other samples are cooled to 4 0 C and transported to lab for analysis

12 Sampling Frequency Summer May September Weekly Winter October April Twice monthly Weather Permitting *Winter sampling reduced to once/month starting Jan 2008

13 Sampling Approach Each site is sampled for each parameter Shallow sites (bridge sites) are sampled mid-depth depth at mid-river Remaining deep water sites (boat sites) are sampled at 1m below surface and 1m above substrate Depth > 15 feet

14 NJHDG Cooperating Laboratories Passaic Valley Sewerage Commissioners TSS, TKN, Fecal Coliform, Enterococcus *, E.Coli ** Middlesex County Utilities Authority Ammonia, Nitrate, Nitrite, CBOD-5, Chlorophyll-a * Bergen County Utilities Authority Total-P, Ortho-P, DOC * Analyses initiated in 2007 * * Analysis to be initiated in 2010

15 NJHDG Field Sampling Participants Rahway Valley Sewerage Authority Joint Meeting of Essex and Union Counties North Bergen Municipal Utilities Authority

16 NJHDG Tributary Sampling Participants Joint Meeting of Essex & Union Counties sample Site 20 Elizabeth River Rahway Valley Sewerage Authority sample Site 22 Rahway River Middlesex County Utilities Authority sample Site 25 Raritan River Tributaries sampled twice/month in summer & once/month in winter