League of Women Voters of Mountain Lakes

1999 Update of Water Consensus of 1989

The League of Women Voters of Mountain Lakes has studied the Borough water supply over the past year and a half.  We have concluded from our study that the major recharge area for our aquifer probably lies outside of the Borough and is therefore not under our control; however, we do want to preserve whatever recharge we do have within the Borough, to prevent local contamination of the aquifer, to promote conservation, and to encourage regional cooperation to protect the aquifer.

A.  Wells

We applaud the Borough Council's efforts to find a new well away from Route 46.  We make the following recommendations for protection of Well No. 5:

• that the Borough consider acquiring all land within 600 feet of the well, possibly with Green Acres funds;
• that we require a protective berm be constructed around the well, both on private and public land, to protect the well from surface contamination;
• that we ensure that emergency plans for handling a Route 46 spill remain current; and
• that the Borough Council aggressively pursue the passage of a wellhead protection program.

We recommend that we locate all unused wells in the Borough to ensure they are properly capped and do not create a direct conduit through which pollutants might enter the aquifer.

B.  Underground Tanks

We recommend special attention be given to underground storage tanks not covered by New Jersey's Underground Tank regulations.  The Borough should:

• Institute a program to locate all used and unused underground tanks, test those over twenty years old and educate homeowners regarding appropriate corrective action.

C.  Quantity of Water

We recommend continuing education of the public about conservation of water.

D.  Regional

Since all nearby communities have a common dependence on our prime acquifer, we support a continuing concerted regional effort, at the mayoral level, to protect the water supply.  Goals for regional cooperation would be to:

• Establish common ordinances to protect the aquifer and its recharge area;
• Promote conservation;
• Encourage preservation of open space;
• Lobby for Tier 7 designation for the aquifer and its recharge areas in the N. J. State Development and Redevelopment Plan.

We would like to promote regional education of both public decision-makers and citizens regarding conservation measures, aquifer protection, and that relationship between open space preservation and groundwater recharge.