Navesink sewage spill not a risk for swimmers or shellfish, NJDEP says

RED BANK – The sewage spill in Red Bank is “not considered a risk for swimming or shellfish,” according to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

After a drilling company hit a force main on July 11, the borough issued an alert to avoid eating shellfish or swimming in the Navesink River. The sewage spill occurred in NJ Transit Train Station’s Lot 1 at the intersection of Monmouth and Burrowes streets.

The force main was clamped around midnight on July 11, according to the borough’s news alert.

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Caryn Shinske, spokeswoman for the NJDEP, said the sewage spill was minimal. In addition, “Several tide changes have occurred since the spill, and any remaining contamination will already have been flushed.”

Since the closest bathing beaches and unrestricted shellfish beds are also far from the spill, “no additional sampling or advisories/closures were determined to be necessary,” she added.

According to the Red Bank alert, the borough had alerted NJDEP of the spill and was told that water sampling would occur on July 15.

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From mid-May to mid-September, Shinske said, local health departments monitor recreational beaches through the Cooperative Coastal Monitoring Program, which is administrated by the NJDEP.

Routine beach samples were tested on July 15 at Highlands, and on Tuesday, July 16, at the Shrewsbury Yacht Club along the Navesink, she said.

“These beaches and/or shellfish beds are not located in close proximity to where the spill occurred last week and, therefore, are not considered to be at risk,” Shinske said.

Olivia Liu is a reporter covering transportation, Red Bank and western Monmouth County. She can be reached at oliu@gannett.com.