OCEAN GATE – Jeffrey’s Creek drifts into the Toms River close to the mouth of the Barnegat Bay. It’s a spot known locally as a duck pond, where you can spot waterfowl gliding atop its placid waters. And that is potentially what makes its health at stake.
Students from Save Barnegat Bay took water samples for seven weeks from June 19 through July 31. Stockton student Hope Brehm, King’s College student Caroline Liebmann, and University of Rhode Island student Kaitlyn Muller delivered a presentation to the Berkeley Township Council after their work was done.
Brehm said that the site wasn’t researched much before this team. The goal was to get a baseline for certain statistics to set up future research.
They took samples at six different locations. Muller said that they tested for things like dissolved oxygen, nitrates, fecal coliform, turbidity, and pH, all of which will give a good idea of the health of the creek. They also noted if it had rained prior to the tests because that will make a difference. Point Pleasant Avenue has some runoff so that was a key location.
Every testing site had worse factors than what the federal Environmental Protection Agency recommends for recreational purposes, they learned.
The calmness of the water and the frequent visits by geese are some of the problems. Healthy waterways have a flow to wash out impurities – much of it caused by the geese and ducks that people come out to see.
Muller suggested that people stop feeding the waterfowl there, and that the location warrants more study in the future.
Brehm said that another idea would be to increase water flow so it doesn’t get stagnant.
During a question and answer period, a resident asked if the summer’s extreme heat impacted the results.
It was the third warmest August on record in the northern hemisphere, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. 2024 also saw the second warmest June through August, and the second warmest January through August. Globally, 2024 is the warmest year on record, averaging 2.3 degrees warmer than the average of all of the 20th century.
The students said that since they just started the study, they have no way of comparing the levels to years that weren’t as hot.
Berkeley Mayor John Bacchione thanked the students and said that the town supports Save Barnegat Bay in their efforts.
