Freehold Twp. takes issue with water comparisons Environmental group reportedly makes claim about water quality

Staff Writer

By dave benjamin

Freehold Twp. takes issue
with water comparisons
Environmental group
reportedly makes claim
about water quality

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP — Residents are being cautioned to note who is knocking at their door as door-to-door solicitors are on the rise.

According to a press release issued by municipal officials, representatives of a group calling itself the Environmental Federation of New Jersey are currently soliciting donations from residents.

The "sales pitch" used by the group’s representatives is that they are concerned that Freehold Township’s drinking water "has the same problems as Toms River’s drinking water," although it is unclear exactly what they mean by Toms River’s problems, according to the press release.

In order to back up their concerns about the township’s water quality, the group members state that Freehold Township has 49 environmentally contaminated sites, according to the press release.

In the face of these claims, township officials are speaking out to set the record straight.

"There are many worthwhile organizations soliciting door-to-door," said Mayor David Segal. "However, residents are cautioned to verify any claims made by these organizations before making any donations."

When someone comes to the door to solicit, residents should verify that the solicitor has a signed permit from the Freehold Township clerk’s office, not just a license from the state, Segal said. The township requires that all door-to-door solicitors obtain a permit and wear an identification badge.

The state gives licenses to almost any organization that files, although that does not mean the person has a license to solicit in Freehold Township, the mayor said.

On a recent edition of his cable television show, Segal reminded residents of a situation that occurred about two years ago when a salesperson knocked on the door of a resident and told the resident the water system was unhealthy.

"All of this was an attempt to sell a water filter system," said Segal. "What (the solicitor) didn’t know at the time was that he had knocked on the door of the municipal administrator, Tom Antus."

The solicitor was invited back and a member of the water department was there when the solicitor returned. The presentation was taped and it was proven to be a scam, according to the mayor.

"The solicitor’s company sued us and they lost and they were out of business," Segal said.

Antus then described an incident that occurred on June 8 at about 5 p.m.

"The doorbell rang and I answered it," the township manager said. "A young man


introduced himself and said he was from the Environmental Federation of New Jersey. He said he was there because he does not want what happened to Toms River water to happen to Freehold Township water."

Antus said he didn’t think that could ever happen, "if, in fact, there is anything even wrong with Toms River’s water."

The township administrator continued, "He said to me, ‘It already has. There are 49 contaminated sites in the township.’ "

Explaining how a site is determined to be "contaminated," Segal said, "Technically, if you’re mowing your lawn and you spill gasoline and it’s reported, that little spot on your lawn is a contaminated site."

The town’s press release said that each year the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) catalogs each and every environmental spill.

An example would be a homeowner who has an oil delivery and the oil company overfilled the tank, causing some degree of spillage. The oil company is required to notify DEP of the spill. The location of the homeowner’s property would then be listed on a contaminated sites report. Freehold Township has 49 such locations which municipal officials said are minor ground surface contaminations that have no impact on the water system.

The township has 10 wells which draw water from aquifers hundreds of feet below ground level and as such are not impacted by a minor spill at a residence or gas station, officials said.

"There is no connection between these minor surface spills which show up on the DEP list and the quality of water in Freehold Township," Antus said during the televised interview.

The town’s new state-of -the-art distribution center and system continually monitor the quality of the drinking water. A new computer system, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition, continually monitors water quality. Additionally, four samples are hand-drawn each day and checked. The water department also conducts weekly, monthly and quarterly tests. The township has indicated that the water supply is 100 percent safe, Antus said.

"Our water is absolutely 100 percent safe," the administrator said. "It is the best there is."

In early July, the annual Consumer Confidence Report will be mailed to all residents. This report details the water distribution system.

Antus noted that there is little control over organizations which solicit in towns if they register.

"If you’re a nonprofit (organization) and you register with a municipality, the township can’t even set the hours of operation," he said.

"If you are going to contribute money, it shouldn’t be because of misinformation," Antus said. "Clearly in this particular case, (it’s) the taking of information from one source and generalizing it for another reason. The bottom line is, ‘Please give me money. Would you like to contribute?’ "

Sharon Jones, canvass director for the New Jersey Environmental Federation, Belmar, which is the New Jersey Chapter of Clean Water Action, said her organization is registered with the township and the people who canvass wear the proper identification.

She also said the name of the organization is not the Environmental Federation

of New Jersey.

"The township must have transposed the name," Jones said.

The director indicated there are about nine people who go through town and collect signatures of supporters, generate letters about the National Clean Water Act, campaign to protect the water and do fund-raising.

"They absolutely give receipts," Jones said. "They give receipts if residents give cash, a check or put it on their credit card."

Jones said any information the canvassers cite while they are speaking with residents comes from the DEP Web site.

"These are Superfund sites, like Lone Pine Landfill, and places like that. It’s not a little spill on the ground," Jones said. "We don’t mention one contaminated spot. What we do is give people that Web site and they can look it up exactly for themselves. We’re definitely not going to defame any businesses or anyone like that."

When asked if she knew whether any contaminants from any of the sites that are indicated on the DEP list could affect the water supply, Jones said, "I’m not a scientist. If gasoline is leaking into the ground, it goes into the ground water."

Jones said she would like to see checks to find out what kinds of chemicals are at the sites listed in the report and then test the drinking water for those chemicals. She said in New Jersey water companies test for 91 different chemicals.

As a matter of record, John Zimmerman, superintendent of utilities for the township, said the closed Lone Pine Landfill, off Burke Road, is nowhere near the township’s water supply.

Once listed on the federal Superfund list, the landfill was cleaned and is monitored at checkpoints surrounding the site.

Zimmerman said just because a site is listed on the DEP Web site doesn’t mean it has any effect on the township water system.

"Our wells are 300 to 900 feet deep, and they’re continuously monitored for volatile organic compounds (VOC). We monitor every contaminant the DEP requires."

Regarding the references reportedly made by the environmental group’s representatives about water in Toms River, Zimmerman said, "In Toms River they had problems with VOC’s from a landfill. They found the problem and they remedied the problem 10 years ago.

"They put in air strippers and carbon filters. Nobody is saying it’s the water (that is causing any problems), because they’re still testing the air. They’re testing attics and 100 other things. If they knew it was the water, then why are they testing for air quality?"

Regarding Freehold Township’s water supply, the superintendent said, "There are no problems whatsoever. People don’t have to worry."