State plan may adversely affect private wells
By Linda Seida, Staff Writer
WEST AMWELL — The State Agriculture Development Committee wants to draw millions of gallons of water from wells on two preserved tracts of farmland in the township, but the water may not be there.
Even if it is, taking so much water from the wells could have an adverse effect on neighboring private wells, township officials have theorized.
The water would be used for future farming operations on the preserved land.
”We don’t think it’s here,” Mayor William Corboy said of the millions of gallons of water. And if it is, “we don’t know if it will affect other wells.”
It’s far from a done deal, but township officials last week agreed to seek a meeting with the SADC to explain West Amwell’s unique hydrogeology.
”It’s very beneficial for a township like West Amwell to have preserved farmland,” Mayor Corboy said. “We don’t want to make it an issue, but we do want to be cautious.”
The SADC purchased the Case and Holcombe farms in 2007. The ultimate goal is to auction them as preserved farmland. The portion of the Holcombe farm purchased by the state sits at the corner of Mill Road and Route 179. The state purchased about 72 acres for $24,000 an acre.
The Case farm is farther east on the north side of Route 179. The state purchased about 87 acres for $19,000 an acre.
Nobody wants to step on the SADC’s toes because it paid to preserve the acreage, yet the township’s unique and rocky geology may put an uncomfortable wedge between gratitude and practicality.
”We’re going to meet with them informally and let them know what our concerns are,” Mayor Corboy said.
”The funding for both farms came entirely from the state with no municipal cost share,” West Amwell Open Space Committee Chairman Sean Pfeiffer said. “Back in 2006, there was a question as to whether the funding would be available for these farms, and for a while, it looked like the funding might not be there for either of them. The Open Space Committee spent a lot of time following the process at the SADC to make a case in favor of funding these acquisitions, and, fortunately, those discussions were ultimately successful, and both projects were funded by the SADC. Ron Shapella, representing the Township Committee during these discussions, was also very helpful in our conversations with SADC staff to secure the funding for these projects.”
Mr. Pfeiffer also expressed gratitude to the SADC “and, in particular, Dan Knox, for their efforts in preserving these farms. Obviously, that money could have easily been spent somewhere other than West Amwell, but with a lot of effort, we were fortunate enough to obtain the funding to complete both of these projects.”
Still, the township’s gratitude for the state’s preservation efforts and funding does not cancel out the concern over the possibility these two farms could end up drawing millions of gallons of water from up to five wells on the two properties.
The application made to Rutgers Cooperative Extension and the state Department of Environmental Protection’s Bureau of Water Allocation asks for approval at the Holcombe Farm to divert up to 10.1 million gallons per month and 60.6 million gallons per year at a maximum rate of 300 gallons per minute from up to two proposed wells.
The application for the Case farm asks for approval of plans to divert up to 17.3 million gallons per month and 387.5 million gallons per year at a maximum rate of 450 gallons per minute for three proposed wells.
The numbers wouldn’t be a problem in South Jersey, Mayor Corboy said, “but here, we have mostly rock, and it might be a problem.”
When his own private well was put in recently, the mayor said he got only 2 gallons a minute.
Mayor Corboy explained the township’s hydrogeology in a letter to the Bureau of Water Allocation.
He wrote, “In rock country, like West Amwell Township, the groundwater only exists in the fractures in the rock, thus, the impacts of pumping would be concentrated along the fractures. So, depending on the orientation of the fractures, someone very close may have no impact, and someone further away will be impacted. This is why a well driller can drill 600 feet and hit no water and then move over 50 feet and hit 20 gallons per minute at 100 feet deep on the same lot.”

