Published in the Ocean County Observer
BY EDDIE HOLLOWELL
STAFF WRITER
Dover Township Mayor Paul C. Brush called for sweeping changes in how public water is provided in New Jersey during a public hearing of the Senate Environment Committee yesterday.
Some of his suggestions included providing public water to all residents or at least footing the bill to annually monitor individual wells. Brush also said the state should consider purchasing all public water utilities operating in New Jersey.
"Water is our most precious resource and it is, quite frankly, beyond comprehension that we would allow this resource to be controlled by foreign corporations," Brush told the committee. "These corporations are more concerned with their bottom line profit than water quality, providing an adequate supply of water, or security concerns."
Brush told the committee of water issues faced by Toms River in recent years, from the ongoing court battle with Ciba-Geigy to clean its contaminated former site, to more recently, United Water's failure to report radiation exceedences or to notify township officials that too many customers are hooked up to its water system.
Brush said he supported a bill sponsored by state Sen. Andrew R. Ciesla, R-Ocean, that would require public utilities to notify the public and governing bodies of the towns affected when the utility exceeds the permitted water allocation.
He called the the bill "an important step," but added, "I believe that much more comprehensive actions are required."
All New Jersey residents should be hooked up to public water and the state should pay to design and install the infrastructure necessary, Brush told the committee.
"At the very least," Brush said, the state should pay for the cost to monitor individual wells annually.
In Dover Township there are approximately 2,000 homes that still rely on individual wells, and in many areas of the township there have been reports of well contamination, Brush said. The township has instituted a well sampling program at an estimated cost of $400,000. Testing all wells in the township would cost millions, Brush said.
"It is an issue which is beyond the ability of our local government to adequately address," Brush said.
The state and its residents might be better served taking control of all public water utilities operating in New Jersey, Brush said.
"A state-owned public water utility, run on a local or regional basis and preserving and managing our water resources, would better protect and serve the public interest," Brush said.
In the meantime, Brush said public utilities that violate the law must be subjected to heavy fines, though care must be taken to ensure those fines are not passed along to the residents.
Published in the Ocean County Observer 04/21/06
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