By Lauren Wanko
Correspondent
When lots of vacationers are still tucked under the covers, maybe even dreaming about a dip in the water, a pilot prepares a plane for takeoff. The goal of this flight — to ensure the water is safe for swimmers.
The DEP Bureau of Marine Water Monitoring flies over the coast six days a week from May through September — four short flights over Raritan Bay to Little Egg Inlet and two long flights over Raritan Bay to Cape May Point. Research scientists are looking for anything that may affect bathing and ocean water quality. We’re about to join them on a flight.
We take off at Coyle Field near Chatsworth, reaching an altitude of 1,500 feet and then head to the coast where we descend to 500 feet over the water. The pilots are with the state Forest Fire Service. DEP Research Scientist Virginia Loftin’s been monitoring the coastlines, bays and rivers for nearly 25 years.
“Anything that could affect bathing beaches would be things like algae blooms, floating trash or debris, maybe a broken sewer line or something like that,” Loftin said.
On this flight, Loftin’s pleased with the water quality.
“The water may be a little turbid after some recent rainfall. Other then that, it looks good, everything looks look good. We’ve been doing these flights since the mid-80s when there were concerns for coastal water quality, in that time between upgrades to coastal treatment plants and programs so we’re really seeing an increase in floatable debris on our shorelines,” she said.
During the flight, the airplane collects sensor data for chlorophyll A levels.
“The sensor is reading the wavelength of chlorphyll in the water bouncing back to the plane and we’re gather that data onto a computer,” Loftin said.
It’s important to monitor, says Loftin, because high levels of chlorophyll A could indicate more algae, potentially leading to an algae bloom which could be harmful to the people who eat the shellfish that have been harvested in an area with a toxic algae bloom and it can also cause respiratory issues for swimmers.
Have we had a bloom so far this summer? “Minor bloom in a coastal lake and some minor issues in Raritan Bay but no major blooms,” Loftin said.
We spotted small amounts of algal foam on our flight, which Loftin says isn’t a concern.
“It’s not uncommon to get algae growing in the summer time, especially with the warmer weather. People fertilizing, fertilizer runs off and creates nutrients for algae to grow,” she said.
From the air, we fly over boaters eager to start the day on the water and miles of sand not yet covered with beach chairs and umbrellas.
“From the air we’re monitoring all 650 recreational bathing beaches along the ocean. And we’re collecting samples at about 217 of the beaches,” Loftin said.
The DEP works with county and local health agencies who typically collect the samples weekly, says Loftin.
Have we had to shut down any beaches cause of water quality so far this summer? “We’ve had a few river beaches. No ocean beaches have been closed due to water quality,” Loftin said.
All of the data is updated regularly on the department’s website.