Madison, NJ - One of the Great Swamp's neighbors in Madison, NJ has announced its support for the Great Swamp Watershed Association's "Adopt-a-Stream Program" to improve the quality of local streams. Maersk Inc. is headquartered in the Giralda Farms complex, close to the Loantaka Brook, one of the most polluted of the five major streams in the Great Swamp Watershed region. Loantaka Brook runs through parts of Morristown, Morris Township, Harding, Chatham and Madison before flowing into the Passaic River. "Maersk's sponsorship will help Adopt-a-Stream to identify and measure the level of a broad variety of pollutants in the Loantaka Brook," said Bonnie Gannon, Development Director of the Watershed Association.

Healthy wetlands in stream corridors perform a number of critical functions. They nourish bio-diversity and cleanse and replenish drinking water supplies. High levels of pollutants, however, interfere in these natural processes. Excess nitrogen and phosphorus in a stream disrupt the cycle of plant growth and decay, throwing its ecosystem out of balance. While Loantaka has been degraded by pollution, all of the streams of the Great Swamp -- one of New Jersey's few remaining freshwater wetlands and drinking water source for nearly 1.2 million households in the region -- are threatened.

"Maersk was very enthusiastic to jump on board the Adopt-a-Stream Project. They've been good corporate citizens," said Gannon. Maersk Inc. joins fellow Giralda Farms-based companies Atlantic Mutual, Wyeth, and Schering-Plough to sponsor the Adopt-a-Stream project, and are members of the Watershed Association Corporate Council.

"The Watershed Association is a membership-based organization, but we also rely on corporate support for big projects like Adopt-a-Stream," Gannon continued. "Identifying pollutants in Loantaka is only the first step in accomplishing Adopt-a-Stream's goals. Long-term, the program aims to reduce pollution levels in all five streams in the watershed, to propose and implement solutions, and to continually monitor them."

The Great Swamp Watershed Association was founded in 1981 to protect the Great Swamp watershed basin. Celebrating more than 20 years as a non-profit organization, the Watershed Association relies on membership and contributions to help protect the continued health of the 55-square-mile watershed area. For information on becoming a member, and to learn about upcoming events, visit the Watershed Association website at www.greatswamp.org.

Photo caption: Tom Anderson, President of Maersk Sealand presents
a check to Watershed Association Executive Director Julia Somers.

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