Category: Water Supply

Streams and Rivers

New Jersey contains 18,126 miles of rivers and streams which are a critical natural resource. Our waterways are the source of about half our drinking water, support agriculture and industrial uses, and provide scenic beauty, recreational opportunities, and wildlife habitat. In New Jersey water quality, quantity, and stream habitat all continue to decline as we build and rebuild in floodplains, encroach upon riparian buffers, and increase our water use.  Environmental commissions play a critical role in protecting waterways by gathering information, educating the public, and working within the municipality to support good planning.

 
Resources
Protecting our Streams  (ANJEC Resource Paper)
New Jersey Rivers (ANJEC Info Sheet)
Regulating Stream and River Flooding (ANJEC Info Sheet)

Water Conservation

Three percent of the earth’s water is fresh water, and only 1% is available for usage, while the average American uses 100 gallons of water per day.  Water conservation of this limited resource is paramount as our demand increases.  ANJEC can provide your EC with sample water conservation ordinances contact us.

Download the comprehensive guide to water conservation Blue Guide for Water Conservation (PDE)

Website links to initiatives and programs:

 

Protecting Our Streams

New Jersey’s streams and rivers are the source of our drinking water, scenic beauty, recreational opportunities and wildlife habitat. Stream systems, generally referred to as stream corridors, extend beyond the water flowing in the channel to include the stream banks (or riparian area), adjacent wetlands, the floodplain and ecosystems of important biological diversity. Protecting the entire stream corridor is the best way to protect the health of the stream.

Regulatory programs have focused on solving specific problems like flood control and wastewater discharge, but generally don’t address the stream system as a whole. Effective stream corridor management requires addressing the entire system – the stream’s hydrology and ecology – to solve problems of surface water pollution, loss of groundwater recharge and decline in animal and plant habitats.

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