Many of the state's historic resources also continue to be lost due to lack of adequate resources to protect and preserve them. Recognizing that the rapid loss of open space was threatening both the quality of the environment and the quality of life in New Jersey, Governor Christine Whitman called upon New Jersey's voters to support an ambitious new goal of adding one million acres of protected open space to the 854,000 acres already preserved in the state. The preservation of open space protects land from future development, but far more importantly, preservation efforts provide the foundation for maintaining healthy ecosystems and sustainable communities in New Jersey. New Jersey is growing at a rapid rate. As development spreads, threats to the state's natural resources increase.
Water quality is especially vulnerable.
Expansive impervious surfaces prevent rainwater from properly re-charging aquifers. Known as runoff, this condition washes pollutants into our surface waters. To reduce the encroachment of impervious land cover into environmentally sensitive areas, land acquisition through the Financing Program is available. Land acquisition complements other water quality initiatives by creating buffer areas around stream corridors to filter pollutants and sediments from surface waters and stormwater runoff. Since 1987, the Financing Program has provided low-interest loans for 219 projects for wastewater, nonpoint source pollution and combined sewer overflow controls, and for improvements to both publicly and privately owned drinking water systems.