Site ID: RC04
Tewksbury Township (Mountainville), Hunterdon County
Stream Category: FW2-TP(C1) (category 1, Trout production waters)
Site monitors Rockaway Creek (above McCrea Mills) subwatershed (HUC: 02030105050080)
This site is located off of Rockaway Road through a small wetland along the roadway; the stream is visible from the road.
What is being monitored at this site?
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.
Select a parameter below to view annual data. Hover over the chart to get more information.
The HGMI at RC04 was found to be good in 2019, which means it was not biologically impaired. RC04 has consistently scored good, in recent years, with respect to HGMI, meaning that this stream has very high water quality. Though the HGMI scored high, the habitat scored sub-optimal. This site suffers from high embeddedness, which means that there are not spaces between the stream gravel for the stream macroinvertebrates to take refuge from predators. This site also has high sedimentation rates and low bank stability. In systems like this, we must make an effort to preserve high water quality, while also mitigating the habitat issues. Increasing stream bank vegetation can help to increase bank stability.
Many people take clean water for granted, but we know it takes vigilance and hard work to protect the water in our rivers, streams and homes.
And we can’t do it alone. We need your help to ensure that everyone within our reach has access to safe, clean water that is swimmable, fishable and, above all, drinkable.
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