N.J. Community Water Watch to start student-action chapter at Princeton

New Jersey resident Abby Stocking says her state has the worst water quality in the nation. But she is working to change that, and University students may soon be part of her effort.

Stocking is an organizer for New Jersey Community Water Watch, a group run by the New Jersey Public Interest Research Group and funded by AmeriCorps. The organization, which has branches on all Rutgers campuses, is currently trying to start a student chapter at Princeton, Stocking said.

The Environmental Protection Agency has deemed 85 percent of New Jersey's water unsafe for fishing and swimming and has issued several advisories notifying community members of the dangerously high mercury levels.

Stocking said Water Watch has three facets in which students can participate — education and community outreach, river cleanups and streamwalking.

In an effort to increase awareness of water quality issues, Stocking has a book of curricula — "Project WET," or water education training — that she hopes to bring to nearby schools. University students would formulate lesson plans and then educate children in grades K-12.

Cleaning rivers is another major goal of the organization, Stocking said. Water Watch volunteers have found everything from cigarette butts to clothing to car pieces in rivers, and have pulled 690 tons of trash out of the water since the group was launched in 1993. Stocking said she "hopes to add to that number with the help of Princeton students."

The group's third major initiative — streamwalking — involves surveying streams and rivers to identify potentially polluted areas. Volunteers head out weekly to patrol nearby waterways, keeping an eye out for point-source pollution, which occurs when companies dump chemicals into rivers through pipes.

Though dumping waste of this sort into rivers is legal with a permit, only certain amounts of discharge are allowed to enter the water. Water Watch volunteers search for — and often find — illegal pipes that contribute to water pollution. Volunteers also conduct water quality tests, both chemical and biological, on a regular basis.

Another initiative Water Watch promotes is its "adopt-a-stream" campaign, which is similar to the well-known "adopt-a-highway" program. Volunteers learn how to monitor a stream section so they can continue to protect their waterway even when Water Watch is not there.

In addition to these volunteer opportunities, Water Watch also offers internships, Stocking said. Interns spend six to 10 hours a week on Water Watch activities, attend weekly meetings and training sessions and each coordinates one of the organization's events. Volunteer opportunities are far more flexible — volunteers can dedicate as much or as little time to Water Watch as they like, Stocking said.

Rolina Madden, head of the New Jersey Commission for National Service — a division of AmeriCorps — said Water Watch is currently working to monitor, clean and support 20 major waterways in New Jersey. The organization now has 20 full-time and 10 part-time staff members.

The group is attacking the most severe water quality problems in 10 cities, including New Brunswick, Newark, Camden, Atlantic City, Trenton and Longbranch.