U.S. Water News Online
BARNEGAT LIGHT, N.J. -- A state senator said he will ask the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to study nitrate levels in the ocean after receiving complaints that fish are scarce near the coast.
Sen. Leonard T. Connors, R-Ocean, met with a local fisherman who said nutrients, including nitrates, from treated sewage that is discharged into the ocean are sucking oxygen out of the water and driving fish away.
``I don't have the expertise to say that it's nitrates,'' Connors said. ``But a study needs to be done.''
Fisherman Bill Hammarstrom of Waretown wants municipalities to stop discharging treated sewage into the ocean.
``We can't catch a fish within five miles of the beach,'' Hammarstrom said. ``It's going to be the end of an era'' if something is not done.
Dery Bennett, of the American Littoral Society, said he has not seen any evidence fish are leaving the waters off Barnegat Light.
``It's not unusual for fish to move when water conditions are not good,'' Bennett said.
Although the state does not have standards for the nutrient content of sewage, the department disputes arguments nutrients are driving fish away, said Amy Collings, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Protection.
``We don't have any evidence that nitrates could reduce the number of fish in the near-shore area,'' Collings said.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency is conducting a study of whether nitrates affect fish and the state DEP is helping, Collings said.
A scientist with Clean Ocean Action said the state allows sewage containing too many nutrients to be dumped into the ocean.
``With nutrients, the dose is the poison,'' Kristen Milligan said. ``Above certain levels, they overenrich the environment.''
A study by the environmental group on treated sewage discharged in the ocean is scheduled to be released in August.
``We know there are pollutants in the wastewater,'' Milligan said. ``The criteria for toxins and nutrients in the sewage are not stringent enough for discharge into the ocean.''
But Ocean County officials say the quality of the sewage treatment their plants discharge has been consistent for 20 years.
``The oxygen levels in the ocean are impacted by many things,'' said Richard Kunze, director of technical services of the county utilities authority.
Although the flow of treated sewage has increased with the county's population, the content has not changed, Kunze said.
The plants remove about 92 percent of solids in wastewater from homes. The material is treated and sent to landfills and incinerators.
The remaining liquid is treated and then discharged into the ocean through outfall pipes.
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