Newark's stormwater problem was closely tied to the health of the Lower Passaic River. In 2012, New Jersey listed a section of the river as impaired for low dissolved oxygen. A community effort then brought green infrastructure, stormwater education and hands-on projects to the city. By 2022, monitoring showed dissolved oxygen met the applicable standards, leading to the river segment's removal from the impairment list, as per a report by the U.S. EPA New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
