NJ-AWRA Named Outstanding State Section!

For the second time since its inception in 1970, the New Jersey Section has been designated Outstanding State Section by the American Water Resources Association .  There are 26 State Sections, so we had some tremendous competition.  The award is presented to the State Section that  provides exceptional service and member outreach in  furtherance of the AWRA’s objectives throughout the year. 

This award recognizes the efforts of dedicated NJ-AWRA officers and members who coordinated and participated in informative seminars and field trips during 2005.  To quote the award letter, the NJ-AWRA “has shown particular innovation in its programs, membership growth and establishing AWRA as a significant water resource professional organization throughout the entire state of New Jersey.”  Our 2005/2006 activities included field trips to the Somerset County wetland mitigation site, the LEED and River-Friendly Business certified Janssen Pharmaceutica Site and the Rutgers Ecocomplex.  Several of these field trips were organized by the Stream Restoration and Ground Water Committees. In addition, the NJ-AWRA chapter sponsored the annual conference of the Mid Atlantic Sections of AWRA (MAC). The conference, titled “Stream Restoration and Protection in the Mid-Atlantic Region”, was described by several attendees as being “the best I’ve ever attended.”

Members of the NJ Board  will accept this honor on behalf of the NJ-AWRA at the AWRA Annual Water Resources Conference in Baltimore, Maryland on November 6^th.  We’ll also celebrate our receipt of this award at the Second Annual Water New Year’s Eve Celebration, which celebrates the beginning of the hydrologic water year*.  Water’s Eve will be held at the Stockton Inn on September 29^th, 2006.   For more details on this event, visit the NJ-AWRA website (www.njawra.org) or email khale@raritanbasin.org.  Come and celebrate our water resources with the “outstanding people” of the NJ-AWRA.

Please contact Membership Coordinator Mary Paist-Goldman (mpaist@princetonhydro.com) or visit www.njawra.org if you’re interested in becoming involved with NJ-AWRA.

*The Water Year is used by hydrologists to show the monthly patterns of precipitation (both rain and snow), evaporation/evapotranspiration from vegetation, runoff, and groundwater recharge, the primary components of the hydrologic cycle.  Hydrologists use a year that begins on October 1^st when soil moisture begins to be recharged following the summer months of high evaporation and transpiration that exceed the precipitation.