How to save water—and protect the aquifer under your feet
Madisonians get 100 percent of their drinking water from under their feet, as do residents of Chatham Borough, Florham Park and East Hanover. In total, 31 towns rely on the Buried Valley Aquifer, a network of underground river valleys carved by glaciers, for all or part of their residents’ drinking water.
Water pumped up from wells can travel quickly. But replenishing that water takes time. Precipitation must infiltrate the soil, seep down into underlying rocks and sediment and make its way through glacial debris to the aquifer. The town’s current wells have seen water levels drop roughly 20 to 25 feet from the late 1950s and 60s to the present.
While this news is not yet troubling, the aquifer faces two issues few imagined in 1957. New Jersey is increasingly paved over. It has more urban terrain than forests, according to a 2015 study by Rowan and Rutgers universities.
How can Madison protect its drinking water?
CONSERVATION TIPS
Water pumped up from wells can travel quickly. But replenishing that water takes time. Precipitation must infiltrate the soil, seep down into underlying rocks and sediment and make its way through glacial debris to the aquifer. The town’s current wells have seen water levels drop roughly 20 to 25 feet from the late 1950s and 60s to the present.
While this news is not yet troubling, the aquifer faces two issues few imagined in 1957. New Jersey is increasingly paved over. It has more urban terrain than forests, according to a 2015 study by Rowan and Rutgers universities.
How can Madison protect its drinking water?
- Residents can direct gutters away from the street toward vegetated areas.
- They can shrink lawns—turf grass, which has short roots and grows in soil compacted by heavy machinery—is little better than cement at water retention.
- Rain barrels and rain gardens are important tools. Madison has 5 rain gardens: 3 at the Madison Recreation and Conservation Complex and one each at the Public Library and Gibbons Pines Parks. During a storm, water is directed into these rain gardens and, within 24 to 48 hours, is absorbed into the ground. Read more: rosenet.org/408/Rain-Gardens.
- Plant trees. Trees and, more importantly, forests, slow rainfall with their branches and canopies and channel water into the aquifer with their roots.
- Leave the leaves in garden beds. Leaves act as a literal sponge, absorbing water and, as they adding nutrients that enable soil to hold more water.
CONSERVATION TIPS
- Turn off your faucet while brushing your teeth and save as much as 2,600 gallons a year, or $20 off your water bill per person.
- Use a low-flow showerhead and save as much as 2,300 gallons a year, or $20 off your water bill per person.
- Water your lawn no more than twice a week, and water at daybreak or dawn when temperatures are cooler so the water won't evaporate before it penetrates your lawn.
- Adjust lawn mower blades to 3 inches so the root system retains more moisture and your lawn will thrive.