Reflections in Water Oldest not the Wisest.

Reflections in Water DePierro Oldest not Wisest.

At Town Council Meeting when water issues come up Councilman dePierro seems to always take the limelight; however his contentions are incorrect on Parsippany’s water supply as it must be as he favors developers rather than his own community. What Parsippany and the Nation require at this time of ecological crisis is elected officials whom recognize the environment is the issue, ecology not economy as the first principal of governance. The state, or the municipality must create economic conditions, not simply react to them. In other words our Master Plan must be stable not manipulated by corporate developers who pounce on Parsippany with their plans altering our master plan to their private interest concerns, leaving Par-Troy residents with their impacts and changes degrading our quality of life for questionable tax ratable impeding our natural cycles of ecological services of which nature provides free of charge; for example aesthetic beauty of original landscapes, steep slopes, trees that give us clean air and sustain the ground water recharge phenomena to our buried valley aquifer where at least 65% of Parsippany’s water originates.

Despite Councilman dePierro’s contention that Parsippany has plenty of water (thereby can continue more development), these are the facts he ignores. That Parsippany itself is part of the Highland Region its total landmass being 14% of New Jersey total landmass providing 70% of all New Jerseys potable water. This fact or sense of place should inspire any official with a covenant of responsibility where only the best landuse is allowed and a strict scrutiny given any development proposal in its real necessity and impacts upon the land and people of Parsippany and the surroundings.

Commons and Public Trust

The concept of our shared commons is the basis for the solemn obligation of State Government to protect and steward those resources it holds in trust on behalf of the citizens. The most precious most valuable of public trust resources, water. Here is the preamble to the Water supply Act. The legislature finds and declares that the water resources of the State are public assets of the State held in trust for its citizens and are essential to the health, safety, economic welfare, recreational and aesthetic enjoyment and general welfare of the people of New Jersey; that ownership of these assets is in the State as trustee of the people.

The fact that Parsippany remains in a water deficit seems to be ignored; officials do not acknowledge that more water is being consumed/depleted than is being returned to the aquifer. NJDEP itself is responsible for the inconsistency as they only look at the past water use and the adequacy of the wells pumping equipment ignoring how much water is really returning or can be sustained at present rates.

Science not Politics

According to the Highlands data, most of Par-Troy is in a water deficit area. The deficit is somewhere between 1 and 7.11 million gallons per day. This is the most stressed category of water deficit in the Highlands. Part of the problem here is that the groundwater is withdrawn and then conveyed to the downstream sewer treatment plant where it flows down the Rockaway and is no longer available to recharge the aquifer. This is what is called water mining.

Obviously, like a checkbook, when the balance gets low you need to stop writing checks so water conservation, reducing allocations and substituting water from another source are typical management strategies, however; All the public supply wells in the area are part of the "buried valley aquifer". Water storage and movement is not the same everywhere in the aquifer. This is a former valley that was filled with sand, gravel and finer material during glacial retreat in the last ice age. Beneath it is massive bedrock that contains little water. Drilling beyond the aquifer's bottom into this rock will not produce water but water from above can be stored in the bore. In some cases the failed well can be deepened and the pump reset to a lower elevation. This may address the current supply issue but will only further deplete the aquifer. Drilling new wells may address the supply issue for the utility but will not help, and may harm, a stressed aquifer. In serious cases of overdraft, there can be groundsubsidance and the pore spaces in the aquifer material can close, reducing or eliminating the aquifer's ability to store and transmit water.

Finally; In the case of Par-Troy, it is a buried valley aquifer with heavy drawdown, during summer months and limited rate of recharge to the aquifer If you reference the deficit/surplus table you will notice that the system has contracts to purchase water from JCMUA (2006) MCMUA (East Morris 1977) and MCMUA 1995. Without these contracts in Place, Par-Troy would have a shortfall in available water. NJDEP Bureau of water allocation.

Overdevelopment, soil compaction, deforestation and increased impervious surface all add to the loss of water recharge. No engineering methods can duplicate nature’s gifts. The issue not only of water quantity, but quality must also be considered, as the cumulative of our life styles all end up eventually is our water supply.

Ponder this Earth People. Potable water. Freshwater makes up a very small fraction of all water on the planet. While nearly 70 percent of the world is covered by water, only 2.5 percent of it is fresh. The rest is saline and ocean-based. Even then, just 1 percent of our freshwater is easily accessible, with much of it trapped in glaciers and snowfields.

Water is Life and Parsippanys Master Plan should Honor it; not take it for granted. Waterview was the last straw; a prime ground water recharge area lost forever. Next Election vote water is life.