Since 1974, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has administered the Cooperative Coastal Monitoring Program (CCMP) with the participation of county and local environmental health agencies. The CCMP assesses coastal water quality and investigates sources of water pollution. The information collected under the CCMP assists the DEP in developing coastal zone management strategies such as land use planning to respond to immediate public health concerns arising from contamination in coastal recreational bathing areas.

Recreational beach water quality monitoring is performed routinely on Mondays and throughout the week as necessary at 188 ocean and 137 bay monitoring stations. Nine local health agencies participate in the CCMP: the county health departments of Atlantic, Cape May, Monmouth, Middlesex and Ocean Counties; and the municipal health agencies of Atlantic City, Long Beach Township, Long Branch, and Middletown. The local health agencies collect water samples each week and perform the water analyses for enterococci bacteria concentrations at beach monitoring stations.

As part of the CCMP, aerial surveillance of nearshore coastal waters is conducted six days each week. This surveillance enables the routine evaluation of coastal water quality and the assessment of the nature and extent of public reports of ocean pollution. These flights include Raritan Bay, the Lower New York Bay, and the Atlantic Coast from Sandy Hook to Barnegat Inlet. Flights on Thursdays and Sundays are extended to include the area from Barnegat Inlet to Cape May Point.

Flight activities are coordinated with the United States Army Corps of Engineers for the NY/NJ Harbor Estuary Program Floatables Action Plan in an effort to capture floating solid waste and debris, also known as floatables, with water-skimming vessels. Sources of floatables that have affected the state's coastal shores include stormwater outfalls, combined sewer overflows, operational landfills, and illegal dump sites.

If you have any questions or would like additional information please go to http://www.njbeaches.org or contact Virginia Loftin at (609) 292-1623 or by email at Virginia.Loftin@dep.state.nj.us.