The New Jersey stormwater management rules were organized in 1983 and updated in 2004. The rules restrict building within 300-foot of "high quality water"; and stormwater and parking lot runoff at new developments must be diverted to a retention basin or a detention basin that are used for groundwater recharge to replenish the aquifer.[1] The detention basins have the added effect of filtering urban runoff from parking lotsofmotor oil and other chemicals that would end up in storm sewers and eventually rivers and streams.[2]
New Jersey receives an average of 44 inches of precipitation each year. About 15 to 39 inches of that rain recharge the reservoirs and aquifers.[3] The original stormwater management rules were passed in 1983 and changes were first proposed in 2002 by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.[4] In 2004 Governor James McGreevey signed into law two new stormwater rules. The new rules minimize the impact of new development by encouraging groundwater rechargebyrainwater harvesting using detention ponds. It also controls development near waterways by creating a buffer.[1][5]
New Jersey's governor says the new stormwater rules they have in place are the most comprehensive in the nation. He is correct that no other state has required a statewide 300-foot buffer around high quality water. New Jersey has more than 6,000 miles of high quality waterways. Governor James McGreevey through two sets of stormwater rules is trying to minimize the impact of new development projects by encouraging recharge of rainwater and controlling development near waterways.
Another way people affect ground water is by adding potential pollution sources. How the land above ground water is used by people, whether it is farms, houses or shopping centers, has a direct impact on ground water quality. As rain washes over a parking lot, it might pick up road salt and motor oil and carry these pollutants to a local aquifer. On a farm or suburban lawn, snow melt might soak fertilizers and pesticides into the ground.
New Jersey proposed new rules for dealing with storm-water runoff on Monday that could permanently change the state's landscape in the name of protecting water supplies and open space.
The state Department of Environmental Protection proposed sweeping new storm-water management regulations yesterday that would require builders to re-channel storm runoff back into the ground. The changes to the Stormwater Management Rules, which have not been updated since their adoption in 1983, would help maintain water quality, reduce flooding and replenish the state's drought-stricken aquifers, Commissioner Bradley Campbell said.