Clean water is important to oysters… and humans!

Billion Oyster Project is committed to providing accessible and transparent water quality data that can inform boaters, swimmers, and kayakers when and where it’s safe to explore and enjoy our local waterways.

The Community Water Quality Testing (CWQT) program, currently facilitated by Billion Oyster Project alongside 15+ partner labs and community based organizations, has engaged community scientists in the testing of NY - NJ Estuary water for bacteria that can be harmful to humans for over 10 years.

 
 

For 20 weeks of the year volunteers and community partners test surface water for sewage pollution typically caused by combined sewage overflows. Data can be paired with rainfall and tide information to make informed decisions about water quality and its potential impact on human health throughout the NY - NJ Estuary.

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Dive into the data

This program — initially organized by Nancy Brous and Rob Buchanan via the New York City Water Trail Association — aims to increase equitable access to our local waterfront by consistently reporting on the health of New York Harbor and advocating for a change to New York City’s antiquated combined sewer system. In 2012, the program began regularly sampling at 22 locations. Today, volunteer community scientists, researchers, and community based organizations have collected over 12,000 samples from 139 unique sites around New York Harbor.

Use the map below to view past and present water quality testing sites, with links to data going back as far as 2011

Blue icons = boat launches, piers, promenades, and other access points where volunteers collect water samples
Red stars = the locations of partner laboratories, where samples are processed during the current CWQT season
Yellow icons = historic CWQT sites that do not have an active sampler and are not actively collecting data
Orange stars = the locations of lab partners that are inactive in the current season

 

 
 

the Newsletter archive

New to CWQT? Access archived editions of the weekly CWQT newsletter and blog to look back at data, news, updates, and photos.

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Partner Labs

Billion Oyster Project operates the CWQT Program alongside the following partners:

 
 
 
 

Upcoming Events

Stay up to date on oyster socials and other educational dining experiences with our partner restaurants.

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