Floating Debris

Tuesday was another great day for the Stewards of the Upper Raritan Watershed Association. Early yesterday morning we received an urgent call from former Mayor of Bedminster Joe Metelski, who reported seeing a huge plastic pipe in the North Branch of the Raritan River. Lauren Theis, URWA’s Stewardship Program Manager and I arrived on site just hours after we got the call and found the giant piece of trash located just north of where the AT&T exit ramp crosses over the North Branch. There was no evidence of where the pipe originated from -- it was most likely washed downstream during one of the recent storm events. The pipe was too large to drag out of the river in one piece (it measured eight inches across and was 100 feet long), so we sawed it into seven pieces and then removed them all from the river.

Most of the pollution in our local rivers and streams is in the form of non-point source pollution, which occurs when rain or melted snow moves over and through the ground, absorbing and assimilating any pollutants with which it comes into contact. The pollutants in this runoff can be quite harmful, and their sources numerous. We usually can’t point to one discreet location of nonpoint source pollution like we can with a discharge pipe from a factory or garbage that is casually thrown into a river or stream.

While we doubt that anyone purposely dumped the pipe we found into the river, the fact that it was there means that someone somewhere was, at best, irresponsible because they did not secure the pipe in its intended location. While Lauren and I were happy to be of service in removing the pipe and disposing of it properly, we are much happier when we get to fish, paddle or swim in the great streams and rivers found throughout our watershed!

Keith Bologno is the Property Steward for the Upper Raritan Watershed Association.  An avid fisherman, he was recently named runner up in the First Annual NJ Fly Fisherman of the Year tournament!