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State of the Raritan Reports

The key objectives of the State of the Raritan Reports, Volumes 1 and 2, are to inform watershed management planning, remediation, restoration and protection efforts at the state, regional and local levels, as well as to identify data gaps and research needs that will set priorities for university-based efforts. Our ultimate goal is to develop a baseline of metrics that can be used in the coming years to identify strengths and weaknesses in efforts to restore and protect Raritan resources and to help inform basin-wide stewardship of the Raritan.

State of the Raritan Report, Vol. 1

The first volume of the State of the Raritan Report assessed the change in eleven key indicators that were originally assessed in the Raritan Basin: Portrait of a Watershed (NJ Water Supply Authority, 2002). The selected indicators reflect certain aspects of water quality and watershed health and represent some driver (e.g., human population or urban land use) or reflect on the resulting consequences (e.g., groundwater recharge). This new assessment uses the same eleven key indicators and updates the original data – most from 1986 and 1995 – with data from 2002, 2007 and 2012 in order to determine trends over the past 26 years and to identify data gaps for development of future more comprehensive assessments. The indicators were based on credible, authoritative data sets available in the public domain (e.g., U.S. Census, NJDEP Land Use/Land Cover data). A similar approach could be employed for other watersheds across the state of New Jersey.

For each indicator, the current status and the temporal trends (as reflected by the measured change in the longest dataset available) have been characterized. Trends increased for population, housing units, urban land use and impervious surface cover. An increasing trend for these indicators signifies increasing stress on water quality and supplies with potential negative impacts for the watershed. Downward trends were recorded for wetlands, upland forest, prime agricultural land and groundwater recharge. Downward trends for these indicators suggests that the watershed is losing its natural filtering capacity with attendant negative impacts to water quality. The bioassessment and riparian areas trends were mixed and there was not sufficient data to determine trends for the known contaminated sites and groundwater contamination indicators.

Link to PDF of State of the Raritan Report, Volume 1

Volume 1 Chapter Summaries:

Map of Raritan Basin showing population per square mile

Population

Housing Units

Urban Land Use

Impervious Surface

Wetlands

Upland Forest

Prime Agricultural Land

Groundwater Recharge

Bioassessment – Stream Integrity

Riparian Area Integrity

Known contaminated sites and groundwater contamination

State of the Raritan Report, Vol. 2

Volume 2 of the State of the Raritan Report evaluated eight broad areas encompassing thirteen key indicators that could either impact water quality or watershed health or that influence quality of life in the basin. In most instances, the data collected did not have available historic data to identify trends and is therefore a report of status only but is still valuable to inform future watershed planning efforts that address water quality concerns as well as quality of life in the basin. As in Volume 1, most of the indicators were based on credible, authoritative data sets available in the public domain.

Link to PDF of State of the Raritan Report, Volume 2

Volume 2 Chapter Summaries:

Canopy Cover

Known Contaminated Sites

Threatened and Endangered Species

Open Space

Recreational Trails – Greenways

Recreational Trails – Public Boat Launches

Grey Infrastructure – Stormwater Basins

Grey Infrastructure – Outfalls

Grey Infrastructure – Culverts

Grey Infrastructure – Bridges

Grey Infrastructure – Dams

Restoration Projects

Resilience (FEMA FIPs)

ArcGIS StoryMaps

In the Spring of 2019, undergraduate students in Dr. Richard Lathrop’s Advanced Environmental Geomatics course developed ArcGIS StoryMaps for key indicators identified in the State of the Raritan Reports, Volumes 1 and 2. Click on the links below to learn more.

  • Bioassessment Tour of the Raritan Watershed by Sayra Reyes
  • Dams in the Raritan River by Kiera Malone
  • Fixing the Raritan’s Stormwater Infrastructure by Liza Chang
  • Habitat Suitability for NJ’s Threatened & Endangered Species by Justin Martinez
  • Housing Issues in the Rairtan Watershed by Alvin Chin
  • Impervious Surfaces of the Raritan River and Surrounding Areas by Laura Vogel
  • Known Contaminated Sites in the Raritan River Basin by Ryan Cooper
  • Open Space in the Raritan River Water Basin by Eva Tillett
  • Population by Abdullah Nasir
  • Prime Agriculture by Jacqueline Cavaliere
  • Raritan Basin Recreational Trails and River Access by Hannah Adickman
  • Raritan River Tree Canopy Cover by Donna Climent
  • Raritan Watershed Restoration Projects by Gretalyn Donato
  • The Raritan Basin and Change in its Riparian Areas by Morgan Crooks
  • Urban Land Use in the Raritan River Watershed by Amanda Lowell

Get in Touch

  • 848.932.2720
  • 732.932.0934 fax
  • raritan@ejb.rutgers.edu

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