What are the dangers to our watershed?

US!

Our homes, our energy usage, our sewage, our garbage, our use of fertilizer, almost everything we do impacts our watersheds.

That doesn't mean we have to stop living, but we have to think about the way we are living.  We have to look at the consequences of what we do and try to make things better.

Natural events like storms and earthquakes, in addition to other organisms also affect our watersheds.  But people are the most powerful influence.

The health of the watershed is POOR.  Because the area is so highly populated and industrialized the watershed is very vulnerable.  In fact, the EPA classifies the Arthur Kill as having "very serious problems".

The most serious problems are with bans on recreational use (you can't swim here), advisories for fish and wildlife consumption (you shouldn't eat the things you catch here), contaminated sediments, wetland loss, high urban runoff, estuarine pollution (stay out of the rivers), and deposition from the air (try not to breathe)!