Watershed Watchdog Volunteers Protect Clean Up The Raritan River In Somerset County

Submitted by the Raritan Headwaters Association 

Nearly a thousand watershed watchdog volunteers traversed the region in search of litter during the Raritan Headwaters Association’s 24th Annual Stream Clean Up. Approximately 11 tons of trash was removed from stream banks at 35 different sites in Hunterdon, Morris and Somerset counties.

From the top of the 470-square-mile Raritan headwaters region in Mount Olive to the confluence of the north and south branches in Branchburg, students, members of Scout troops, families, churches, community clubs, environmental commissions, open space committees and businesses joined together April 26th,  a spectacular sunny, clear Saturday morning. Participants included organized groups such as Affinity Credit Union Federation, Base Camp 31, Central Jersey Stream Team, Citi Group Green Team, Delaware Township School, Gill St. Bernards School, Hunterdon Central Regional High School, Hunterdon Youth Services, Merck, Middle Earth, NJ Chapter of Alliance of Hazardous Materials Professionals, North Branch Reformed Church, Or-Chadash Reformed Temple, Proactivity Associates, Silpada Designs Jewelry, Raritan Valley Community College, Stanton Church, Tetra-Tech, Verizon Green Team and Wolf & Sampson.

In three hours, over 900 volunteers cleaned up the kind of trash you would expect to find like tangled fishing line and snack wrappers.  Some of the more unusual items included a hockey goal, beach balls, prescription bottles, outdoor heater, bicycle, pogo stick, costume witches hat, newspaper dispenser, charcoal grill and a large garden cart. The top five items collected were plastic bottles, cigarette butts, food wrappers, glass bottles and plastic bags. Without the volunteers’ intervention, this trash would end up in our drinking water supplies and even make its way downstream into the Raritan Bay and eventually the ocean.

Clean Up Coordinator Laura Dillman, Raritan Headwater’s AmeriCorps Watershed Ambassador said, “An event of this magnitude cannot happen without the dedication and support of all our volunteers.  I find their willingness to spend a Saturday morning cleaning our waterways inspiring.”

Local sponsors also helped to make this event possible. Bags and gloves were provided by Hunterdon County Utilities Authority. Special T’s donated the t-shirt set up fees. ShopRite of Hunterdon County provided refreshments during the event and Hot Rods Hot Dogs provided lunch for volunteers after the event. This event would not be feasible without the in-kind support provided by Raritan Valley Disposal, which removed the collected trash after the cleanup was completed.

The event attracted broad-based support. American Rivers helped promote this event and Crown Trophy of Flemington created awards for top volunteers. Morris County Clean Communities and Somerset County Solid Waste Management provided additional funding along with 18 towns including Bedminster Township, Bethlehem Township, Bridgewater Township, Califon Borough, Delaware Township, Far Hills Borough, Flemington Borough, Franklin Township, Borough of Glen Gardner, Mount Olive Township, Peapack-Gladstone Borough, Randolph Township, Raritan Township, Readington Township, Town of Clinton, Township of Roxbury, Union Township and Washington Township.

This event was a great success and victory for watershed protection!  For more information about the annual Stream Clean-Up event, please contact Angela Gorczyca, Water Quality Program Manager, at908-234-1852 ext. 315.