Maxwel Lee ’26

Major

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Project Title

StreamWatch Water Quality Monitoring Program

I worked with the StreamWatch program, a program at The Watershed Institute that collects data on the water quality of freshwater ecosystems in central New Jersey. As part of the program, weekly tests are performed for E. coli, turbidity, chloride, nitrate, and orthophosphate, providing insight into the overall health of the local aquatic ecosystem. My project centered around mapping the collected data in the software ArcGIS to create an interactive dashboard that presented the data for each of the 60 sites in an easily understandable manner on The Watershed Institute’s main website. The dashboard will be utilized to educate local communities about the health of various water bodies in New Jersey, helping to raise awareness about the severity of harmful algal blooms and the importance of monitoring aquatic health. During my internship, I also had the pleasure of helping educate people on water pollution issues during the annual Butterfly Festival. It was very rewarding to teach people about all the work I undertook throughout the summer.



Internship Year

2023

Project Category

Water and the Environment

Organization(s)

The Watershed Institute - Pennington, New Jersey

Mentor(s)

Erin Stretz, Assistant Director of Science and Stewardship, The Watershed Institute; Jian Smith, StreamWatch Program Coordinator, The Watershed Institute