A new State program provides maps of public drinking water wells
in New Jersey and the areas around the wells that are delineated as
Well Head Protection Areas. The left map shows the Consumer New Jersey
Water Company well adjacent to the property proposed for development.
This well supplies water to Holland residents along the Route 519
corridor including Holland School (Kindergarten through eighth grade).
The three tiers around the well show the time it will take for contaminants to reach the well (two years or less; five years or less; twelve years or less). The right map of a proposed development before Holland’s Planning Board shows that almost all of the proposed subdivision is within the protection area. This includes all but one of the septic systems, containing contaminants such as sewage, drain cleaners, solvents (turpentine, paint thinner), household cleaning products (bleach, ammonia, oven cleaner) and prescription drugs (antibiotics, hormones, steroids, etc.), and most of the houses, with their weed killers, insecticides, pet feces, and motor oil from driveways. The mapping project is intended to help state and municipal officials take measures, such as changing zoning rules and preserving open space, to protect the state’s 2,425 public drinking water wells.
Serious consideration should be given to preserving this land as
Open Space in order to protect the public drinking water supply.
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