By Jeff Tittel
New Jersey has been dealing with the coronavirus crisis, but because of that we’re not paying attention to the crisis we have when it comes to our drinking water. We have serious problems with the quality, quantity, and contamination of drinking water in New Jersey. Many places are seriously affected by lead and new emerging chemicals like PFAS in drinking water. The Murphy administration has kept in place all of Christie’s rules that weaken water protections. They have also failed to meet the challenges of water pollution from climate change and sea-level rise or deal with toxic sites and set health-based standards for contaminants.
The DEP hasn’t shown leadership when it comes to upgrading our water systems and taking on the lead crisis. Gov. Phil Murphy committed to getting lead out of schools, homes, and pipes but instead, he threatened to take $80 million from the lead infrastructure program to fix the budget. The state has also failed to deal with toxic sites or contaminants in our water. There are about 3,500 contaminated sites that affect groundwater near drinking water wells and reports show toxins in over 500 water systems in the state. TCE and PCE are carcinogens that have been found in wells in New Jersey, and 1,4-Dioxane was found in Wanaque Reservoir.
Governor Murphy committed to having the Drinking Water Quality Institute (DWQI) meet regularly to set standards for toxic chemicals, but they haven’t met in almost two years. There were 11 chemicals that DWQI was going to nominate for new standards based on scientific research in 2010. We’ve been waiting 10 years for these recommendations to come into effect, and there are about 500 chemicals that the DEP hasn’t even begun to look at. Emerging chemicals have a big impact on health and we haven’t even started looking at those.
The DEP’s failure to deal with climate impacts and nonpoint pollution has led to more harmful algal blooms (HABs) impacting our lakes and reservoirs. At least 24 of our lakes are closed or under advisory because of algae this year, including major drinking water sources like Greenwood Lake and Lake Hopatcong. Instead of dealing with the problem, New Jersey took $2 million from the HABs budget and the DEP still hasn’t released the $2.5 million for Greenwood Lake. Climate impacts are also causing issues with saltwater intrusion. Cape May is considering expanding its desalination plant. This will become a self-perpetuating failure because pumping brackish water will lead to saltier groundwater.
Our drinking water quality is also impacted by stormwater runoff and combined sewer overflows (CSOs). This is at least a $14 billion issue and leads to raw sewage closing our beaches and flooding our streets. The Delaware Water Gap was closed for swimming because of stormwater pollution, and sea lice were found at South Jersey beaches because of high nutrient levels and warm temperatures. Instead of fixing the problem, the DEP adopted a stormwater rule that only makes things worse. Even Trump’s FEMA said they were troubled because the rule didn’t account for sea-level rise, nutrient pollution, proper green infrastructure, and will just increase flooding.
We need a stable source of funding to fix outdated water filtration plants and water systems and to replace pipes. DEP needs to move forward on conserving water, which could help fund some of those efforts. They need to deal with overdevelopment, impervious cover, and overpumping aquifers to deal with water supply issues. They should calculate 10-year droughts using a 7Q10 calculation because places like the Ramapo River are in 10-year droughts every other year. They also should fix the permitting system for water withdrawals to avoid depleting groundwater, disrupting stream flows, or more saltwater intrusion like in Cape May.
If the DEP doesn’t start addressing our aging water infrastructure now, our drinking water problems will only get worse and could lead to a shortage in the future. They need to remove lead pipes from our homes and schools and set health-based standards for drinking water contaminants. The DEP also needs to update its rules to deal with climate change and plan better for land use, as well as develop standards for unregulated chemicals like PFAS and other forever chemicals. They need to upgrade streams to C1, update Flood Hazard rules, restore wetlands and stream corridors, and install green infrastructure like blue roofs. Is the glass half empty or half full? It doesn’t matter if you can’t drink what’s in it.
Jeff Tittel is the director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.
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