Robert Tudor, assistant commissioner for environmental planning and science in the state Department of Environmental Protection, took issue with the critics. He noted that more marine waters are open to shellfish harvesting, including part of the Navesink River, and ocean swimming bans are down, among other gains. As the nation marks the 29th anniversary of Earth Day today, the Garden State is at a crossroads in its struggle to balance land uses, protect vast surface and ground water supplies and provide enough clean water in the coming decades. Monmouth County's estimated population of 603,434 in July is projected to increase to about 700,000 in 2020. Ocean County's population is expected to mushroom from an estimated 489,819 to about 700,000 in 2020.
More people mean more development, greater demand for water and increased storm water runoff.
Officials said Monmouth County is expected to have enough water through 2040 because of the vast supply in the Manasquan Reservoir. Slightly more than half the reservoir's safe yield of 30 million gallons a day is being tapped. DEP officials believe that the Manasquan Reservoir can meet demand in both Monmouth and northern Ocean counties, said Shing-Fu Hsueh, who heads the DEP's water supply administration. In Ocean County, the Toms River and Metedeconk River watersheds, where populations may nearly double by 2040, face significant water supply issues, according to the 1996 New Jersey Statewide Water Supply Plan. Demand for water in the Metedeconk watershed, which covers 123 square miles in Ocean and Monmouth counties, exceeded sustainable supplies by 4 million gallons a day in 1990, the DEP plan says.