Water Works 3 - 3/10/03

Chronic Drought in the Lockatong Basin

When we left our aquifer at the headwaters of Lockatong Creek in the latest episode of this series, it was suffering from a case of what geologists call “chronic drought syndrome,” which it caught from the NJDEP.

That inevitably happens when the amount of water pumped from an aquifer nearly equals the aquifer’s recharge rate. Limits on pumping are normally imposed to prevent the adverse impacts of mining water: precisely what the NJDEP is promoting in the Lockatong watershed. Water mining has already reached critical levels near the Lockatong headwaters in Franklin Township, where the NJDEP intends to increase total water pumping to 112% of aquifer recharge and 5.6 times the safe limit.

Chronic drought syndrome reduces water flows, shrinks wetlands and increases sediment and pollution in streams, overwhelming other aquatic systems that maintain water quality. It creates a cycle in which the entire waterway slowly expires, as an obituary would put it, from complications of headwater dehydration. Failing wells, vanishing springs and shrinking ponds are warning signs that water mining has depleted an aquifer beyond its ability to recover. They also signal changes in the chemistry of the water underground. Lower water levels that accompany prolonged droughts impair an aquifer’s ability to dilute septic effluent, pollutants, and in Lockatong shale aquifers, naturally occurring lead and arsenic, all of which eventually leach into wells and streams.

The Lockatong watershed actually suffered two droughts in recent years: the one New Jersey’s entire water supply is still recovering from, and an even more severe drought the NJDEP created just for us, long before the natural one arrived.

A child experimenting with glasses of clear water and tea will eventually notice that a smaller volume of clear water gets darker when the same amount of tea is poured into it. That darker solution is our aquifer in a drought – or two. Except for some required math and chemistry, that child understands why two-thirds of Franklin Township is zoned at a minimum lot size of 7 acres for one house. That may seem large until we compare it to the 15 acres adults at the NJDEP have recommended for Lockatong shale aquifers like ours. The NJDEP’s conduct here indicates an impaired understanding of a concept a child can grasp. It has not only ignored its own standards for water protection, but has effectively removed any margin of safety that Franklin Township’s zoning ever provided.

Here is the NJDEP speaking for itself, in a 1997 memo from an Administrator to an Assistant Commissioner of Environmental Regulation (“SUBJECT: HOT ISSUE”), reporting that an inspection prompted by failing domestic wells near Garden State Growers found Garden State illegally pumping water from 4 high volume irrigation wells without NJDEP permits. That is an offense subject to fines of $5,000 for each well, each day, and the revocation of all permits to pump water from any wells, legal or not.

Administrator saw the courses of action available as (1): to “shut down the diversion from the unpermitted sources, which would cause this container growing operation to lose 50% of their crops,” or (2): “in lieu of shutting down the unpermitted sources,” require Garden State to repair or replace the failed wells. (i) A second memo between NJDEP Bureau Chiefs concerning “enforcement action” for the same violation requests: if Garden State refuses option (2), an order should be issued “to cease pumpage from unpermitted diversion sources (wells) until certification modification is approved.” (ii)

In what are practically templates for long paper trails stretching forward and back in time, Administrator, Assistant Commissioner and Bureau Chief share the unmistakable assumption, indicated by the requested “enforcement action,” that a water supply pumped beyond its capacity is a problem to be solved by well drillers and feats of paperwork.

What was the outcome? Nothing was done. The water continued to flow, the “50% of their crops” raised in violation of New Jersey law were shipped to market, no homeowners were compensated and no penalties were assessed. “Certification modification” finally won the day when, after more violations and more failed wells in 1998, the NJDEP actually increased the amount of water pumped by Garden State in 1999, while New Jersey was suffering its worst drought in more than 30 years.

Next – an unforgettable evening at Franklin Town Hall, four years ago.

Ron Gutkowski