The Hammonton Gazette 04/19/17 Edition | Page 4

ENVIRONMENT , from Page 1 New Jersey Environmental Commissions ( ANJEC ) and the Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station ( NJAES ) are three of the organizations that have been working on ways to preserve the water quality of the Kirkwood Cohansey Aquifer Cluster for the past several years .

PPA director for water programs Richard Bizup attended the meeting and said the town of Hammonton was a main focus area for the alliance when attempting to promote water conservation during the initiative .

Through funding from the William Penn Foundation , the PPA created brochures and handouts containing water conservation information tailored to Hammonton , as well as a low-impact development guide for Hammonton with

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resources pertaining to storm water runoff management .

Bizup said the PPA has spent years canvassing door-to-door for public feedback on water conservation and promoting its message , which he believes is a cause that is beneficial for several reasons .

“ Water conservation is a benefit that extends the life of your water system so you don ’ t have to spend $ 1 million for a new well and also , whatever water is saved is that much more water for the environment , for wetlands , species and stream flow . So , it ’ s really a benefit for a number of different uses ,” Bizup said .

Cheryl Reardon represented ANJEC during the meeting and reported on the results of an ongoing Sustainable Jersey rebate program for residents who purchased energy efficient appliances . Like the PPA , ANJEC canvassed to promote the rebate program , handing out magnets for residents to stick on their refrigerators , and based on the data collected , Reardon said the program was a success as most of the $ 10,000 in grant money allotted by Sustainable Jersey has been given to the residents .

“ I have to say , you ’ re rebate program was extremely successful ... I did a quick add-up , and I think there are 131 rebates ... The canvassing definitely worked … You started out with $ 10,000 and

Wednesday , April 19 , 2017 • The Hammonton Gazette • Page 3

Environmental Commission discusses conservation

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there ’ s $ 277 remaining ,” Reardon said .

Christopher Obropta attended the meeting on behalf of NJAES to report on extensive work he and NJAES have done in finding ways to manage storm water runoff through “ green infrastructure .”

“ As we add more pavement , we ’ re reducing infiltration , we ’ re increasing runoff . So , how do we remediate that ? How do we change that and kind of restore that natural water cycle ? The answer is green infrastructure ,” Obropta said .

Obropta explained that through the limitation of surfaces that don ’ t allow storm water to permeate , less storm water will end up in the waterways connecting to the Kirkwood-Cohansey Aquifer .

When a municipality has more than 10 percent of its surfaces impervious to storm water , streams will begin to be affected , Obropta said . The town of Hammonton has 5.2 percent of its surfaces as impervious cover , but Obropta reported on select areas around town where that figure is closer to the threshold where storm water runoff becomes an issue .

Obropta highlighted several methods of green infrastructure that reduce storm water runoff , including the construction of rain gardens , which are landscaped depressions that are designed to capture water and let it absorb into the ground . Obropta proposed the installation of rain gardens in Hammonton and said NJAES is planning on contacting the county to install them at the Atlantic County Library System / Hammonton . Obropta said NJAES has money to pay for the soil , mulch and plants for the rain gardens and would monitor their condition for the first two years .

Obropta said ANJEC and the PPA would play a key role in the green infrastructure initiative by spreading the word about the project , which supports the same goal as their organizations and all of the other organizations working for the Delaware River Watershed Initiative .

“ In the end , we want ANJEC and the Pinelands Preservation Alliance to be partners on this stuff because as we work together on this , they ’ re going to be able to point people to this garden ,” Obropta said .

Environmental Commission chairman Daniel Bachalis expressed interest in the prospect of incorporating green infrastructure into Hammonton and said it is an opportunity of which the town should take advantage .

“ This hits so many buttons ; we can ’ t pass it up . We definitely want

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