Site Description

Site ID: BR03
ChesterTownship, Somerset County
Stream Category: FW2-TP (C1) (Category 1, Trout production waters)
Site monitors Lamington River (Pottersville gage to Furnace Road)subwatershed (HUC: 02030105050010)
The site is on Black River Fishing club property; a club member must be present when volunteers monitor this site.
The sample site riffle is upstream of the parking area, at the top of the first riffle beyond the pond on site.

What is being monitored at this site?

• Biological and Visual Assessments (?)
• Chemical Testing (?)

Water Quality Data

Each June, Raritan Headwaters scientists and volunteers visit 72 stream sites in the North and South Branch Raritan Watershed Region (WMA8) of New Jersey to collect data on the health of our streams.  Data collected includes a sample of benthic macroinvertebrates (used to calculate the High Gradient Macroinvertebrate Index;HGMI score), an assessment of the habitat in and around the stream, and chemical conditions in the water.  Chemical parameters include dissolved oxygen, phosphate, chloride, specific conductance, nitrate, turbidity, pH, and temperature. The HGMI is used by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to determine if the site is meeting state and national water quality standards under the Clean Water Act. Click here to learn more about our stream monitoring program and water quality reports.

Site Data for BR03

Select a parameter below to view data. Hover over the chart to get more information.

Threats and Recommendations

The HGMI at BR03 was found to be fair in 2019, which means it was biologically impaired. Because BR03 has been consistently good in years past and saw a recent sharp decline in HGMI, it will become part of our quarterly chemical monitoring program in 2020 so that we can begin to identify and address the causes of impairment. This site is located within a well-forested section of our watershed, which means that water quality should be relatively high, with trees to help filter pollutants and trap stormwater before it hits the stream. The biggest water quality issue that we found at this site was high levels of phosphates in the water. Most of the anthropogenic phosphates in streams comes from stormwater run-off, wastewater treatment plants, and septic systems. High levels of nutrients such as phosphates and nitrates cause an overgrowth of bacteria and algae and eventually result in oxygen depletion.  Maintaining an intact riparian buffer may help to increase water quality in this stream.