Princeton Water Watch

 

 


 

To learn about our current projects and activities, please visit our blog:

princetonwaterwatch.wordpress.com

Did you know that New Jersey has the WORST water quality in the nation? In fact, approximately 75% of New Jersey's lakes, rivers, and streams are TOO polluted for swimming and fishing, including Princeton's Lake Carnegie! New Jersey is the most densely populated state in the entire country, so it is up to individuals like you to become part of the solution.

Princeton Water Watch works with students and community members to combat our local water quality problems through environmental education, stream monitoring, and river cleanups.

For more information, please contact us at njh2o@princeton.edu



     

    Past Accomplishments Accomplishments

  • Stream Monitoring:
    Each Fall and Spring, our stream monitors go out to tributaries of Lake Carnegie and conduct visual, biological and chemical testing to assess the health of the waterwats. These assessments allow us to provide specific examples and show people evidence of the problems threatening our streams, Lake Carnegie, and the Canal.

  • River Cleanups:
  • Over the years, Princeton's chapter of Water Watch has hosted river cleanups where hundreds of volunteers have removed trash and litter from the D&R Canal, Lake Carnegie and the Mill Hill Park Stream in Trenton, NJ, as well as at the Jersey shore while participating in Clean Ocean Action’s beach sweeps. With the help of Jim Consolloy, Princeton University’s Grounds Manager, and in cooperation with the SVC’s Community Action program we have removed invasive plant species from an area of woods near the crew team’s boat house on Faculty Road.

  • Environmental Education: In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Princeton Water Watch participates annually in NJ Community Water Watch's Education Week, a collaboration between nine chapters that visits schools in Newark, Trenton, Camden and Atlantic City where about 50 volunteers teach over 2,000 students about the enviornment. In Princeton and the surrounding areas, the chapter works with the community's schools to teach fun, hands-on lessons about the environment.

     

    VIP Interactions:
  • We were honored to have NJDEP Commissioner Lisa Jackson at Princeton in October 2006 to speak to students about the environmental challenges we face in New Jersey and how individuals can make a difference. Also, Governor Jon Corzine attended a Water Watch Earth Day River Cleanup Spring of 2007 in New Brunswick on the Raritan River.