As part of our environmental stewardship and compliance with environmental regulations, Rutgers has implemented a comprehensive stormwater management program to reduce the impact of stormwater discharges on surface and ground waters.
You may have noticed some of our most recent enhancements around campus, including:
- The creation of artificial wetlands, planting of vegetation, and installation of a biofiltration system on the Livingston Campus near Beck Hall
- Creation of naturalized meadow areas that save energy, reduce pollution, and cut down on the use of fertilizers
- Aeration of Passion Puddle (Cook campus) to improve water quality and prevent fish kills
- Upgrade of storm drain inlets to prevent and reduce the amount of litter entering the waterways
In addition to these efforts, we continue to: clean and maintain our storm drains and basins; conduct litter patrols of our grounds; conduct routine street sweeping of our roads and parking lots; and properly manage and limit the use pesticides and fertilizers.
A required element of our program is to provide annual educational information to the University community on what you can do to help protect our water, both at the University and at home. You can help by:
- Limiting your use of fertilizers and pesticides
- Properly disposing of hazardous waste through your city, town or municipality
- Cleaning up after your pets
- Volunteering during community clean up days
- Placing litter in proper trash receptacles
- Properly managing yard waste (composting, recycling grass clippings on lawns)
- Not feeding wildlife, such as ducks and geese, in public areas
- Properly maintaining and washing your vehicle
- Avoiding dumping anything down storm drains
For more information on stormwater management, please visit:
- Our Stormwater Booth on RUTGERS DAY, on Red Oak Lane, Cook Campus
- The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Stormwater website at: http://www.nj.gov/dep/stormwater/ .
For additional information of stormwater management at the University, please contact REHS at (848) 445-2550 or view the stormwater brochure in the references.
Thank you for your efforts in helping to maintain and improve the quality of our water!
- Rutgers University's Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SPPP)
- Rutgers University Facts about Stormwater Pollution [pdf]
- NJ Department of Environmental Protection - Stormwater Website
Please direct all questions to James Simoni at (848) 445 - 2550