Two Leaking Sewer Pipes Were Responsible For Closure Of Shellfish Beds In Shark River: DEP

Two municipal sewer pipes in Neptune City that bled into a stormwater discharge pipe and ultimately into the Shark River were responsible for the closure of shellfish beds late last year, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection.

The two pipes - which contained a "significant" source of bacterial contamination - were discovered using dye tests and cameras provided by the state Department of Transportation.

DEP Commissioner Bob Martin thanked the DOT, Monmouth County local and county officials and Neptune City for participating in the joint effort to determine the source of the contamination.

"This has been a team effort in the truest sense of the term," Martin said. "Our scientists worked very closely with NJDOT engineers, who provided extensive technical and resource support. We also had the strong support of Monmouth County, local officials and Senator Jennifer Beck to track down the source of this pollution, no easy task considering the size of the area that had to be investigated and the complexity of piping networks in the area. Neptune City also stepped up and fixed the leaks promptly."

"It has been a real pleasure to work with the DEP, NJDOT, and Monmouth County on this project to preserve our natural resource," said Neptune Mayor Robert Brown. "This is proof how you can make great progress on such an important project when we all have the same goal."

In early November, the DEP's Bureau of Marine Water Quality Monitoring suspended harvesting of clams from two stretches of the river - 122 acres in the northern portion of the river in Neptune City and 144 acres in the western portion of the river at Belmar - due to extremely elevated levels of bacteria, a strong indicator of sewage leaks.

The DEP and its partners are currently launching a similar effort to track down the source of bacteria being discharged into the western portion of the basin. This situation may also be the result of an underground sewage pipe leak, DEP officials said.

"We still have a lot more work ahead of us, but this is a great step toward identifying and tracking sources of bacteria that impact shellfish beds and can diminish the public's recreational enjoyment of the river," said Ray Bukowski, DEP's Assistant Commissioner for Compliance and Enforcement, who organized the track-down effort.

The shellfish beds have not been harvested for years because they would have to be cleansed first by a process known as depuration, before they could be shipped to market.

"The DEP's goal is to improve overall water quality in the river so that in the longer term we can make the naturally productive shellfish beds found there commercially viable again," said Dan Kennedy, DEP's Assistant Commissioner for Water Resources.

Due to strong programs protecting and monitoring shellfish beds, the percentage of beds considered safe for harvesting across the state is now nearly 90 percent, compared to about 75 percent in 1977.

Founded in 1912, the Bureau of Marine Water Monitoring actually precedes the formation of the DEP by nearly six decades. The bureau collects thousands of samples from shellfish waters which, among other things, measures temperature, salinity, nutrients and bacteria.

For more information on the bureau and its work, visit: http://www.nj.gov/dep/bmw/

Image: state Department of Environmental Protection