Diverse group reports to state DEP on all aspects, present and future, of what may be state’s most precious commodity… What is the Water Supply Advisory Council? It’s a panel that, under a 1981 state law, advises New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection on all aspects of water supply including the New Jersey State Water Supply Plan, a long-range blueprint that hasn’t been published since 1996… Does the DEP have to take its advice? No. The department doesn’t always act on the panel’s recommendations but has traditionally been receptive to its ideas, according to Dan Van Abs, a Rutgers professor who is a technical adviser to the council… “The Department has come out with pieces of technical information on water uses, technical methods for determining water availability, that we know are intended to be part of the plan,” Van Abs said.
Legislators Bemoan 20-Year Delay in Adopting Water-Supply Master Plan
It has been nearly 20 years since the state updated its water supply master plan, a delay that legislators and conservationists said could jeopardize the ability to deliver safe and adequate drinking water to residents in the future… In those two decades, population has grown, water use has increased, and potential problems with providing potable water to consumers have multiplied. These include depletion of groundwater supplies, increased pollution, and uncertainty about where the supplies to meet tomorrow’s needs will come from… “In most cases, it comes down to ratepayers,” said Daniel Van Abs, an associate professor at Rutgers University and a former project manager at the state Department of Environmental Protection, which developed the state’s last water supply master plan in 1996.
Opinion: Steering Clear of the 2 Percent Trap for Water Utilities
In 2010, New Jersey adopted restrictions on local government budgets, limiting annual increases in overall property taxes to an average of two percent per year (with certain exceptions). Recent articles and press releases have pronounced this limitatio…
Opinion: The Clock is Ticking for New Jersey to Control Combined Sewer Overflows
The Romans developed a technology, now called combined sewers, to move sewage and stormwater off the streets and out of the city. London revived the use of combined sewers in the 1800s. Many cities in this country also built combined sewers from roughl…
Opinion: Do our Urban Water Systems Have What it Takes to Handle Rapid Growth?
What if urban redevelopment is successful? There are major implications for water and sewer systems if our cities bounce back and thrive… Daniel J. Van Abs is currently associate research professor for Water, Society and Environment at the Rutge…
Experts talk about how climate change will impact New Jersey and the world [VIDEO]
Duke Farms in Hillsborough is one of the largest privately owned pieces of undeveloped land in New Jersey… In June of this year, the organization hosted its first “Duke Dialogues,” an hour-long conversation about issues of importance to the conservation community… The panel included: Dr. Robin Leichenko, professor of geography at Rutgers University and co-director of the Rutgers Climate Institute; Dr. Anthony Broccoli, professor of atmospheric science in the department of environmental sciences at Rutgers University, where he also serves as co-director of the Rutgers Climate Institute; and Duke Farms Executive Director Michael Catania.
