County orders water study Experts will survey resources, demands Tuesday, November 15, 2005 BY LAWRENCE RAGONESE Star-Ledger Staff
A comprehensive study of Morris County's water supply, including future sources and its environmental health, has been approved by the freeholders, with a consultant expected to provide a detailed report in a year.
HDR/LMS Engineering Inc., a Nebraska-based company, will take a look at the county's water system, including its aquifers, flow of rivers and streams, ecological health and interconnections of the water system, from sewage treatment plants and septic systems to stormwater recharge and rainwater runoff, among other tasks.
"The goal is to get good scientific information on our water, to be able to get good evidence to help us make future decisions," said county Planning Board Director Raymond Zabihach. "We want to consider all aspects of the water system, to connect all the dots to see how the various facets of this system interconnect."
HDR was chosen from a list of seven qualified firms and awarded a no-bid $296,000 contract by the freeholders. Zabihach said HDR was recommended by a special committee that included representatives of the Passaic River Institute at Montclair State University, the U.S. Geological Survey and the New Jersey Geological Survey, among others.
"We have historically been a groundwater source for millions of people outside of Morris County, in north and central parts of the state," said Zabihach. "But we have a half-million people who live here and depend on groundwater -- the largest population of any county in the state almost solely depends on groundwater."
The county is interlaced by six major watersheds to be considered in the study, including the Rockaway, Upper Passaic, Raritan, Whippany, Musconetcong and Pequannock systems.
With the state granting fewer permits for new wells and no new reservoirs on the horizon, Morris County residents likely will face higher bills and more stringent conservation measures to cope with rising water consumption amid fears of dwindling supplies, said officials at a countywide summit on water supply held in 2003 by the nonprofit planning group Morris Tomorrow.
The forum was called to begin forming strategies and to raise public awareness that water can no longer be considered a plentiful resource, Christopher Falcon, chairman of the organization, said at that time.
This study is one result of that forum, as county officials try to get a comprehensive handle on the county's water needs.
"We must look at the county overall, try and get a sense where possibilities exist for future water exploration," said John Scarmozza, chief engineer for the county Municipal Utilities Authority. "We want to know areas where water supply is under stress, where further development is not likely."
Some 101 million gallons of water are pumped daily from underground sources and reservoirs in Morris County, much coming from watersheds owned by Newark and Jersey City and piped out of the county. Morris County draws 95 percent of the 47 million gallons it uses daily from wells, said officials.
Lawrence Ragonese can be reached at lragonese@starledger.com or (973) 539-7910.
perhaps this study will prove what we all know to be true - 140 GPR is bordered by two C-1 waterways - no doubt about it. rEV must be pretty upset about this study, I wonder if hE can buy off the guys surveying from Splitrock down to the Rockaway River.
The study will simply have to account for the fact that two C1 estruaries convolve at the location of a 25,000 person gigachurch and part of a townships well system. It will merely be a footnote in the report and of no relevance to RT's problem at hand. That, you can take to the bank.
Get off your depressed mentality. There is enough crap going on around here, and then have to read your posts. I realize this is your opinion, but after a few thousand times, we get it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That is more than an opinion. I know some of the Freeholders. They do not want to touch cc with a 10 foot pole. That is just a fact, as depressing as it may be. Get used to it, buddy. Nobody cares what happens to RT but for the folks who pay taxes here...
