Mountain Lakes
Water Usage -- What's the Problem?
Mountain Lakes uses wells to draw water from deep underground. Historically, these have been able to provide plenty of water for our needs. But this summer and in recent ones, Mountain Lakes has been drawing more water from the wells than we are permitted by the State of New Jersey, which is a major problem.
Mountain Lakes has three workable wells, a main well on Route 46, one near the Rockaway River Country Club and one on Tower Hill Road. These tap an aquifer of considerable depth (about 200' - 300') running along Route 46 east of the Boulevard and nearly parallel to Pocono Road west of the Boulevard. Near the western boundary of the Borough the channel forks, one fork running west toward St. Francis Life Care Center in Denville, and the other running north below the Rockaway River Country Club and up the Rockaway Valley.
Our wells have plenty of pumping capacity for our needs but the removal of water from the aquifer must be controlled to preserve it as a long term source of water. Aquifers are fed by water seeping down through the ground over years. Although it's difficult to measure the exact amount, it's important for the future to not draw more from the aquifer than is being replaced. Because several towns tap into the same aquifer, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection acts as a referee, setting an allocation for each town. For Mountain Lakes, the allocation is 30 million gallons per month or 285 million per year.
That should be more than enough. The standard rule of thumb by water engineers for a town like ours is 100-150 gallons per day per capita. For Mountain Lakes with 4,300 residents, that's 13 million to 19 million gallons per month, well under our DEP allotment. That's how much we should be using.
However, in recent summers Mountain Lakes has been pumping at the rate of over 30 million gallons per month. What's going on and where is all this water going?
Normally it's a complex problem. There are many places for the water to go. A few are:
- Household and commercial usage
- Outdoor watering of lawns and landscaping,
- Swimming pools,
- Unmetered connections,
- Fire fighting,
- Improperly calibrated pumping meters,
- Leakage in the distribution network under the streets,
- Leakage in lateral lines from the street to individual houses,
- Opened hydrants,
- Inaccurate or malfunctioning water meters.
However, in this case it is simpler. Mountain Lakes' usage is well within bounds during the winter but spikes upward during the summer months. The common-sense conclusion: the extra volume is caused by typical summer-time water usage, primarily outdoor watering.
This conclusion has been confirmed in audits by professional water engineers who say that leakage in the distribution network is within normal limits. It's not considered possible to reduce leakage to zero in any town. It is measured by comparing the amount pumped from the wells to the aggregate of all water meter readings. Mountain Lakes has made considerable progress in upgrading its 80-year old pipes and is running at 18% leakage -- well within the acceptable range so this doesn't explain the discrepancy.
The availability of potable water in northern New Jersey is a serious concern. It is irresponsible for Mountain Lakes to routinely draw more than its share and it may jeopardize future generations. Beyond that, doing so may subject the Borough to DEP fines.
We must live within our hydrologic means. That is why the Borough Council has announced watering restrictions and may require additional measures if they fail.