UPPER FREEHOLD — Approximately 30 residents or property owners in the Imlaystown, Hornerstown and the Yardville-Allentown Road corridor attended the Sept. 13 Planning Board workshop to learn more about alternatives for wastewater for their properties.
Planning Board Chairman John Mele said many of the properties in these areas are on small lots with cesspools.
Under new state regulations, homeowners cannot sell their houses without putting in a septic system or an alternative wastewater system, but there is either not enough room on these lots for a well and septic system or there are other environmental constraints, he said.
Mayor Lorisue Horsnall Mount said that of the 92 properties in these three areas, 64 percent are presumed to have cesspools, according to township records.
The zoning for Imlaystown and Hornerstown is village/neighborhood, while Yardville/Allentown Road is community commercial.
Planning Board planner Angela Clerico and Paul Knowles, of Natural Systems Utilities, gave presentations about the township’s status and possible solutions for the wastewater issues in the three designated areas.
Clerico said under the township’s current six-acre zoning, there is a potential for 2,703 new residential dwelling units and 7.7 million square feet of non-residential space.
One solution for the problems in the three areas could be constructed wetlands, which Knowles called “affordable at a small scale.” He said these wetlands, constructed with native plants, are “perfect for a rural/agricultural community.” He said these wetlands have no odor, but a positive visual impact, and can be built close to houses.
While he had not crunched the numbers for this particular project, Knowles said that the installation costs for this system are roughly the same price as a septic for each property owner.
One resident said houses in Imlaystown are falling down, adding that the best solution may be to tear the structures down and have the land become part of Clayton Park, operated by the Monmouth County Park System.
Mele said Imlaystown Lake is a Category 1 under state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) standards, and by law could not have any infrastructure built within 500 feet of it. It also abuts park property, preserved farmland and Route 526.
He said he has spoken to state officials, and one solution is to use holding tanks for effluent, or wastewater, which must be pumped out every two weeks.
“There may not be a solution for Imlaystown, but we can’t make that decision without knowing the options,” he said.
Valerie Palluzzi, a principal in A. Norton Septic, said she had prepared an estimate for installation of a septic tank for an Imlaystown resident who owned three properties, which had been approved by the board of health in 2010.
To build the septic system, one of the houses either had to be turned into a garage or demolished, she said. Installation of the system would cost $25,000 — $7,500 for a new well, and $2,000 for electrical work and other costs related to the particular site.
A Hornerstown resident reported that gray water from a washing machine or dishwasher is going into the storm sewer.
Clerico said the next step, after collecting comments from participants, is preparing a draft nitrate dilution study and a draft water resources management plan. When those are complete, a second workshop will be held in the spring. The draft plan will then be revised and presented to the Planning Board, she said.
Mele said he was pleased, not only with the number of residents who turned out, but more importantly, with the conversations that took place because of a desire on the part of residents to understand the state’s changes regarding septic systems and how these changes impact them, their properties and the township.
“What caught my attention the most was both the frustration and cost some have already incurred and are facing in the near future to maintain their existing systems,” Mele said.