New Jersey water in 1928

The information on this page has been reproduced from the book New Jersey: Life, Industries and Resources of a Great State published in 1928 by the New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce. It is included on this site because of its historical interest to those who grew up in Kearny, New Jersey

Water

WATER as a necessity of life and its availability when required are taken for granted to such an extent that few think of anything except the mechanical act of turning the faucet. Annoyance first and then consternation would follow the continued failure of water to flow through its customary channels. It is a far cry from the occasional Indian wandering by the forest stream to the time when every man had his own well by his dwelling, and on to the present, when water must be furnished in enormous volume to great centers of population for domestic use and for a multitude of industrial purposes. The problem is complex but can be solved satisfactorily if dealt with on broad lines and with the co-operation of all concerned.

The total consumption of water from public systems, both publicly and privately owned, in New Jersey during 1924 was over 354,000,000 gallons daily. Of this 101,500,000 gallons daily was ground water taken from a large number of artesian wells. For convenience in considering water supplies. New Jersey may be divided into three parts.

First, the Northern Metropolitan District, comprising roughly the counties of Bergen, Passaic, Essex, Hudson, Union and Middlesex.

Second, the Southern Metropolitan District, comprising the counties of Mercer, Burlington, Camden and Gloucester, including the cities of Camden and Trenton.

Third, the rest of the State.

NORTHERN METROPOLITAN DISTRICT

In the Northern Metropolitan District reside 2,360,000 people, or 68% of the total population of the State, in about 175 incorporated communities. Nearly all are supplied from 40 water systems, of which 22 are publicly and 18 privately owned. They consumed in 1914 about 150,000,000 gallons daily. The principal developed sources are the following: (1) The Pequannock watershed of 64 square miles, from which Newark draws a maximum of 57,000,000 gallons daily; (2) The Rockaway watershed of 12.1 square miles, which furnishes Jersey City with 60,000,000 gallons daily, a part of which is sold to neighboring cities, (this supply, with additional storage, can be increased to 100,000,000 gallons daily); (3) the Passaic River (main stream at Little Falls), from which the Passaic Consolidated Water Company takes some 50,000,000 gallons daily for sale to Paterson, Passaic, Clifton, Kearny, Harrison, East Newark, and Bayonne;*

*NOTE:—Some of these cities will share in the Wanaque supply referred to later.

(4) the Hackensack shed of 115 square miles (partly in New York State) from which the Hackensack Water Company supplies between 26,000,000 and 30,000,000 gallons daily to Union City, Guttenberg, Wee-hawken. West New York and Secaucus in Hudson County, besides Hackensack, Englewood and some 40 other communities in Bergen County; the sources used by the Elizabeth town Water Company, the Plainfield Union Water Company and the Middlesex Water Company, which include the Elizabeth and Rahway rivers and a large number of wells located at different points. These companies supply some 35 communities in Union and Middlesex Counties with about 26,ooo,ooo to 27,000,000 gallons daily. The Commonwealth Water Company supplies about 8,000,000 gallons daily to Summit, Irvington, West Orange, Millburn, Maplewood and other places. Perth Amboy secures 14,000,000 gallons daily from wells and New Brunswick about 7,000,000 gallons daily from Lawrence Brook.

SOUTHERN METROPOLITAN DISTRICT

In the Southern Metropolitan District there were 542,000 people (16% of the total population) in some 105 incorporated communities. Nearly all were supplied from 48 public water systems, of which 19 were publicly and 29 privately owned. They consumed about 84,000,000 gallons dailv. Trenton has an unlimited supply from the Delaware River, the chief problem being to prevent pollution from streams flowing into the Delaware and from other sources. Camden has developed a supply of over 16,000,000 gallons daily from underground sources, and the remainder of the district derives its supplies mainly from wells in a similar manner.

REST OF THE STATE

The rest of the State has an area of about double that of the two metropolitan districts combined, but contains only about one-sixth of the population and is predominantly rural. There are, however, 250 incorporated communities, but they are generally small and widely scattered.

POPULATION GROWTH

The growth of the population is reflected proportionately in the need for additional water supplies. Those best qualified to judge estimated the population of New Jersey in 1924 to have been 5,044,000, and that by 1930 it would be 3,463,000, with a further increase by 1940 to 4,219,000. The census bureau now estimates the population of the State, as of July 1, 1928, to be 3,821,000, or 358,000 more than was anticipated by 1930. Increasing knowledge of New Jersey's many advantages for industrial, commercial and residential purposes, the facilities afforded by the Holland Tunnel and bridges between New Jersey and New York, and by the Delaware River bridge connecting Camden and Philadelphia, combine to produce this exceptionally rapid growth, which is but the beginning of a still greater influx. These facts give added emphasis to the necessity for the development of new sources of water-supply, especially in the Northern Metropolitan District.

NEW SOURCES OF WATER SUPPLY

In this district the margin of safety between daily consumption and the maximum average capacity of developed supplies is very narrow and may disappear entirely in the first dry season, such as was experienced in large areas in 1918 and again in 1923. Furthermore, increasing pollution in some of the sources in thickly populated districts will render desirable, and even imperative, the abandonment of these supplies as soon as they Can be replaced with purer water. Filtration and chlorination are already resorted to extensively, but there is an undetermined limit bevond which it would not be prudent to go in this direction.

Looking north

A factor of very great importance in the northern district is the approaching comple tion of the development of the Wanaque watershed, adjoining that of the Pequannock, with an area in New Jersey of about 66 square miles. The city of Newark, anticipating future needs, very wisely, and after a long period of preliminary consideration, entered into a contract with the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission on October 31, 1918, for a supply of 50,000,000 gallons a day from the Wanaque River. The project was later enlarged to provide for a supply of 100,000,000 gallons daily and to make possible the participation of other cities under a supplementary contract with Newark, dated January 24, 1924.

Meanwhile, the drought of 1923 had alarmed a number of adjacent communities and negotiations were entered into which finally resulted in contracts between the city of Newark and the commission with the cities of Paterson, Passaic, Clifton, the towns of Kearny, Montclair, Bloomfield, and the Borough of Glen Ridge. Under this arrangement the needs of these communities will be met for a reasonable period and Newark, which will have an allotment of 40,500,000 gallons daily, will be in a position for a few years to aid other cities until its own needs require the use of its full share. One example of this is the city of Elizabeth, which is negotiating with Newark for the inter-connection of the distributing systems, so as to render possible the use of Wanaque water to supply its needs.

The Wanaque project, as finally planned, provided for the acquisition of about 6,000 acres of land and the creation of a reservoir with a water surface, when full, at an elevation of 300 feet above sea level. This is 2.00 feet above the level of the business centers of Newark, Paterson and Passaic. The reservoir, which has been completed, is about six miles long and a little less than a mile wide at the widest point. When full, its average depth will be about 37 feet, and its total storage capacity at the normal overflow level will be 2.7,600,-000,000 gallons.

It was necessary to construct eight dams with an aggregate length of about one and one-half miles. The largest of these, the Wanaque dam, is an earth structure 1500 feet long with a concrete core wall in the center, extending from the flow line down to bedrock. Relocation of the Erie Railroad for six miles, and of highways for eight miles, has been necessary. The aqueduct from the reservoir will be about 21 miles long. Except for the tunnel through Watchung mountain, little work has been done on this part of the undertaking, which will probably require two years for completion.

The total cost of the entire project will amount to some $2.6,000,000 to $2.7,000,000, apportioned among the participating communities. The supply thus furnished will, even if supplemented by local projects and the interchange of existing supplies, enable the Northern Metropolitan District to meet its needs adequately for only a few years.

The Hackensack watershed is susceptible of further development and the Hackensack Water Company now contemplates the erection of a dam at Rivervale, Bergen County, near the New York State line, which would make possible a substantial increase in the supply available from that source.

The Ramapo River watershed includes 147 square miles but about 112 square miles of this area are in New York State. This is susceptible of development, which would produce some 70,000,000 gallons daily, available for Bergen and Hudson Counties.

It must be borne in mind, however, with respect to both the Hackensack and Ramapo that, since these streams rise in New York State and a substantial portion of their catchment areas are in that State, full development is impossible without joint action, which of necessity would include provision for certain New York communities. Another fact of growing importance is the increasing density of population in Bergen County, which will make it more difficult in future to keep supplies from these sources sufficiently free from pollution to warrant their use for potable purposes.

In view of the situation thus outlined, it is necessary, either through action by the State of New Jersey or by a cooperative movement on the part of all interested communities, to plan at once for the next major development.

A substantial supply may be obtained from the North and South Branches of the Raritan River, but the ultimate solution of the problem for the Northern Metropolitan District is to develop the streams in the sparsely settled highlands in the western part of the State, all of which flow into the Delaware River.

New York and Pennsylvania, as well as New Jersey, have inalienable rights in the great Delaware basin, which contains about 7,000 square miles above Trenton Falls. It is highly important, therefore, in order to avoid endless litigation in future, to arrive at some equitable understanding among all three States. Two attempts have been made to accomplish this result and one treaty negotiated by commissions representing New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, is now in the hands of the legislature for consideration.

Several State bodies have jurisdiction over various phases of the water problem. Chief among these are the State Department of Conservation and Development, and North Jersey District Water Supply Commission. The Water Policy Commission was created by the legislature for the purpose of investigating and reporting upon various phases of the question as it affects the welfare of the entire State.