The Highlands Plan - it's all about water

RELEASE: Feb. 1, 2008 – Volume XL, No. 5

When you turn on the faucet, do you know where your water comes from? If you live in northern or central New Jersey, chances are that all or part of it originates from the Highlands, a rugged, scenic, 1,250-square mile region in the northwestern part of the state.

More than 5.4 million residents of this state we’re in get their water from the Highlands. Some 800,000 Highlands residents drink from public and private wells, but those who live outside the region receive their Highlands water via rivers and reservoirs. A major portion of the state’s economy is dependent on cheap, clean Highlands water. Even Budweiser is made with Highlands water! But will you be able to rely on having pure and plentiful water far into the future?

New Jersey’s 2004 Highlands Law found that “protection of the State’s drinking water supply and other key natural resources…. could not be left to the uncoordinated land use decisions of 88 municipalities, seven counties and a myriad of private landowners” making decisions based on their own interests alone.

This is because water does not recognize political boundaries, either above or below-ground, as it seeps from upland headwaters into streamlets, and from there into streams, rivers and reservoirs; or as it percolates, drips and migrates in the water-holding crevasses of Highlands bedrock aquifers.

The Highlands Law called for regional planning, one of the only ways New Jerseyans have been able to protect water and natural features to date. The Highlands Council and its professional staff have developed a draft Regional Master Plan intended to protect Highlands water supplies and other resources. The plan is based on the most up-to-date information available, and as a regional plan, it is not tied to political boundaries. Its goals are to protect water, forests, farmland, wildlife habitat, recreation, cultural, historic and scenic values and the diverse character of Highlands communities.

But, so far, the plan lacks clear standards to implement these goals. Expert analysis has determined that over 60 percent of the region’s 183 sub-watersheds are in “water deficit,” meaning more water is being used up than is being replenished. The plan would allow continued development in these areas, exacerbating the existing critical problem. This type of planning perpetuates a myth of unlimited water supply. New Jersey can no longer chart its course along this faulty way of thinking. In 2008, New Jersey citizens should expect state-of-the-art planning for future water supplies, and a plan that acknowledges the real need to limit growth in these deficit areas.

In addition, the plan must protect the fertile, pastoral farmlands in the Highlands Planning Area from continuing suburbanization and pavement. As currently proposed, the plan would allow residential development in the few remaining viable farming areas in the Highlands. Plus, it would allow local officials to play with land use boundaries and add even more growth.

Over 50 organizations have urged Governor Corzine to protect the Highlands and its water supply by both strengthening the Highlands Regional Master Plan and by immediately issuing an Executive Order that would require the Highlands Council to issue a finding of "no adverse impact" on Highlands' resources before any major development project could be approved.

If you want to make sure that the Highlands Council creates the best possible plan to protect your water supply and other Highlands resources, attend one of three public hearings being held February 6, 11 and 13 by the NJ Highlands Council on the draft Highlands Regional Master Plan, or comment via email or snailmail - the deadline is Feb. 28. You can also write a letter to the governor and ask him to safeguard your water!

Go to www.highlands.state.nj.us or www.NJHighlandsCoalition.org for more information. And I hope you’ll contact me at info@njconservation.org, or visit NJCF’s website at www.njconservation.org, for more information about conserving New Jersey’s precious land and natural resources.

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