In an effort to preserve and enhance the Meadowlands’ sensitive wetlands and plant and animal habitats, as well as to provide up-to-the-minute air and water quality information, the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission is installing a complex environmental monitoring system for the district. “For the first time, sophisticated data collection equipment is being put into place specifically to examine environment conditions throughout the Meadowlands,” said Jane Kenny, chairperson for the HMDC. “The information collected will provide us with up-to-the minute data and measurements that will enable us to quantify environmental gains for the district and region.” The monitoring stations are being installed by the Meadowlands Environmental Research Institute (MERI) at a dozen locations around the district and are in integral part of the HMDC’s overall strategy of environmental improvements for the Meadowlands. MERI was established in conjunction with Rutgers University two years ago as a research center to study significant environmental issues in the Meadowlands and to assist the HMDC with its long-term environmental reclamation work. “Our monitoring station will tell us about current conditions in the district and will verify the results of our environmental enhancement efforts over time,” said Alan J. Steinberg, HMDC executive Director. “Our research will establish the benchmark for wetlands science and management, and our efforts will constitute a hallmark of Governor Whitman’s overall efforts to encase watersheds.” Two weather stations, an air-quality station and 12 water quality stations will be installed in Bergen and Hudson counties, and will involve hands-on water sampling and evaluation by researchers. A prototype station is located in the Kingsland Impoundment adjacent to the HMDC’s Environment Center in Lyndhurst. The new automated station will sample weather, water and air in intervals from one to 15 minutes around the clock. Data recorders using a battery-charged, solar-power device linked to a cellular phone will transmit information to the MERI computer for evaluation and analysis. Reports will be generated automatically. The water station will monitor specifically water quality, levels and flow rates. They will also measure dissolved oxygen, temperature, pH, salinity, turbidity and depth. The collected date will also be used to determine the effect that water and biological communities have on either other. The air-monitoring stations will measure ozone levels, carbon monoxide, pollution, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides and other chemicals and toxins. With stations dispersed throughout the district, sampling will provide information not only about the individual sites, but also about the changes on the water as it flows down the Hackensack River towards Newark Bay, and could be used to provide real time reports on flooding, baseline data on other aspects of the district, and information about the effects of waste leaking from landfills on the water. The monitoring system is expected to be fully functional by the fall, and the information should be available on the MERI website, updated every 15 minutes. “I think it is really good,” said Hackensack Riverkeeper Bill Sheehan. “The more scientific data can only prove that the area is getting better, and give us a stronger argument to preserve the area.”