To help meet water demand, the Brick Municipal Utilities Authority plans to build a 1-billion gallon reservoir on a former sand and gravel mine that straddles Brick and Wall. The reservoir, which would supply water to Brick, Point Pleasant, Point Pleasant Beach and possibly Wall, is expected to be operational by 2002. It would provide 18 million to 20 million gallons of water per day. Meanwhile, officials and activists alike stress the importance of land-use planning to protect water supplies. With portions of 19 watershed management areas in need of restoration, the DEP has begun efforts to protect and enhance surface and ground water supplies and reduce pollution in watersheds.
Watersheds are large areas where water drains into a single river or water body.
The DEP wants officials, business people, environmental groups and citizens to develop plans for 20 watersheds statewide. Each watershed has many contaminated sites and countless small sources of pollution, known as nonpoint sources of pollution, that threaten surface and ground water quality. Nonpoint pollution includes lawn pesticides and fertilizers, pet waste, boat sewage, auto drippings and leaking septic systems. Some critics say DEP officials have talked about watershed management for years and haven't backed up their rhetoric. But Tudor said the DEP has marshaled resources in the past year, and watershed programs are under way in most of the state, including in the Barnegat Bay and Manasquan River watersheds.