of weeklong roundtable
talks on the Metedeconk
Experts: ‘Watershed
community must act’
Panel presents findings
of weeklong roundtable
talks on the Metedeconk
By karl vilacoba
Staff Writer
BRICK — A regional leadership body should be formed to coordinate a cohesive strategy for guarding the water quality of the Metedeconk Watershed, a national panel of experts concluded Friday.
Representatives from local agencies and the panel took part in a series of meetings, studies and tours on the watershed, which is comprised of seven Monmouth and Ocean county municipalities.
The Metedeconk Watershed Source Water Stewardship Exchange Week was one of four pilot projects chosen for funding by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The one overriding conclusion of the sessions was that "the Metedeconk Watershed community must act now to effectively manage its water resources," according to Joe Pantalion, the assistant director of the Watershed Protection and Development Review Department for Austin, Tex.
The experts said the absence of a single leadership body for the watershed needs to be filled in order to form a long-term, common agenda.
Many of the seven Metedeconk towns –– Millstone Township, Freehold Township, Jackson, Howell, Lakewood, Wall Township and Brick Township –– had different land-use ordinances for properties along the waterway.
"We realized there wasn’t a go-to person in charge of this watershed," Pantalion said of his experiences studying the area. "We had jurisdictional issues. We had different opinions."
Proposed as a remedy was the formation of a body that would include one elected official from each of the seven towns, along with representatives from the counties and the various municipal utility authorities.
The elected leaders would communicate the body’s conclusions to their colleagues, who could enact policies at the municipal level.
"This body needs to include elected officials from the towns so it’s high on the public radar and taken seriously," said Robert Pirani, of the Regional Plan Association.
Organizing a strong leadership body can also be advantageous when it comes to securing federal and state funding, said Ted Harrison, senior vice president for the nonprofit Trust for Public Land.
The study backed up what many area residents continually say at local public meetings: the area’s growth has hit a staggering pace and land conservation has become of paramount importance.
The population growth of Monmouth and Ocean counties was twice the national average between 1990-2000, and four times that rate in Freehold Township and Howell over that same period.
"Only 6 percent of your remaining open space in the watershed is protected," Pantalion said. "That’s alarming for me."
The Brick Township Municipal Utilities Authority (BTMUA), a lead organizer for the project, uses the Metedeconk River as the direct source for about 75 percent of its drinking water supply.
The BTMUA serves customers in Brick, Point Pleasant and Point Pleasant Beach.
However, the experts stressed that protecting the watershed is not just a Brick issue.
The water quality, quantity and usage levels at any point of the system can have direct impacts on its other parts, such as underground well levels upstream.
"All that water out there can be very deceptive. It’s there right now, but it may not be there long-term," Pantalion said.