DEP Reaches Settlement
with Local Water Supplier to Address Water Use Violations
and
Promote Conservation:
Township to Replenish
Excess Water Withdrawn from Aquifer
(03/88) TRENTON New Jersey
Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner
Bradley M. Campbell today announced that the township of
East Greenwich, Gloucester County, has agreed to replenish
- over a three year period - the amount of excess water
diverted from a local aquifer and to decrease its reliance
on limited groundwater supplies by purchasing water from
a private water company.
"East Greenwich relied on a depleted
aquifer for its water supply and was consistently withdrawing
more water than permitted due to the township's increased
growth," said DEP Commissioner Campbell. "We are
pleased that East Greenwich is paying back the excess water
amounts used and is easing the long-term strain placed on
the aquifer by tapping into a more plentiful water source
to meet future needs."
East Greenwich is located in Water Supply
Critical Area No. 2 as designated under the state's Water
Supply Management Act. Critical Area designations are made
where excessive water usage poses a significant threat to
the long-term integrity of a water supply source.
Under its DEP-issued water supply allocation
permit, East Greenwich can divert no more than 178 million
gallons of water from its wells per year. In 2001, East
Greenwich exceeded its annual water allocation limit by
more than 79 million gallons, and in 2002 the township exceeded
its annual limit by 61 million gallons.
As part of the settlement with the DEP,
East Greenwich has agreed to decrease the annual, permitted
amount of water it diverts from groundwater supplies by
a total of 61 million gallons over a three-year period between
2003 and 2005 to make up for or replenish the amount of
water withdrawn in excess of its permit limit in 2002. Any
additional water needed by the township during this period
and in the future must be purchased from New Jersey American
Water Company. In addition, East Greenwich has agreed to
pay the DEP $31,250 to settle a penalty assessed for its
2001 water allocation limit violation.
The New Jersey-American Water Company recently
extended its Tri-County Pipeline in order to provide East
Greenwich with any water needed above its permitted water
diversion limit.
Critical Area No. 2 was established in
1993 under the Water Supply Management Act and includes
portions of Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Atlantic, Cumberland,
Salem, Monmouth and Ocean Counties. Since the area was designated,
water allocations from the Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifer
system have been reduced on average of 22 percent within
this region.
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