Protect Our Water on World Water Day
It’s World Water Day! Have you wondered where YOUR drinking water comes from?
The answer is under your feet – if you live in Madison or one of the 30 other towns that drink water from wells drilled into the Buried Valley Aquifer. These wells produce high-quality inexpensive water from porous glacial sediments that were deposited in valleys that extend like tentacles across parts of Morris, Essex, Somerset, and Union Counties.
How does the aquifer get replenished?
In a word, recharge. Forests, unlike lawns, are excellent conduits to infiltrate the rainfall and snowmelt as they mitigate stormwater. The tree canopy intercepts rainfall while the spongy forest floor absorbs excess water and tree roots facilitate the slow downward percolation of water to recharge the aquifer. The water is naturally filtered during this process.
In 1890 when the water wells in Madison were drilled, the aquifer was artesian – meaning its water bubbled up freely without pumps. Today, water levels have fallen due to tree and canopy loss, increased development, and rise in outdoor irrigation. In addition to impacting the aquifer, fewer trees and more development has led to greater stormwater impacts. During Hurricane Ida, 70 homes and one school were pumped out by the fire department.
The 53-acre Drew Forest captures and purifies a whopping 71.5 million gallons of rainfall annually – an ecosystem service valued at over $1.5 million annually.
How do we protect our aquifer?
The Buried Valley Aquifer is a sole-source aquifer, an important designation given by the US EPA when no alternative drinking water source is readily available to communities. This status establishes a duty of care and protection.
Trees and forests are key to aquifer health and protection because they capture and filter water needed for recharge. This important connection has been acknowledged by nine communities in the Buried Valley Aquifer region. Six governing bodies and three environmental commissions along with numerous non-profit organizations have passed resolutions of support for preservation of the Drew Forest in part because of the importance of protecting a critical recharge area for the Buried Valley sole source aquifer that so many people rely on for their drinking water.
In honor of World Water Day, we can all work to protect our aquifer by committing to reduce our lawns, plant native plants and trees, never use pesticides, set up rainbarrels and reduce lawn watering this summer.
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