HAMMONTON — The Hammonton Planning Board met for its regular meeting on November 17 in town hall . Due to technical difficulties with recording equipment , the meeting did not commence until 7:19 p . m . At the meeting , board member
Dr . Michael Hozik was joined by
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Hammonton Environmental Commission chairperson Dan Bachalis for a presentation — including maps and a Power Point Presentation — about the town ’ s National Resource Inventory ( NRI ).
“ It is a lengthy , heavyweight tome , and it does not read like a spy thriller , but it does have a lot of useful information in it ,” Hozik said .
Hozik explained the reason behind the NRI , which he said is the
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“ natural starting point for the development of a municipal master plan .”
“ We look at what we ’ ve got as a town as the first step in figuring out how to allow development to proceed . Development of a community master plan — and I quote — can only reasonably proceed after the natural environmental constraints on future growth have been identified and defined . We need an inventory of what our natural resources are so we can do intelligent planning ,” Hozik said . Hozik cautioned that the NRI offers a “ 20,000-foot view .”
“ It ’ s great for flagging certain areas that you know you don ’ t want to have development in ; it is not good at a parcel-by-parcel level . We have to look at each individual proposal with all the information collected locally ,” Hozik said . The presentation included discussions of Hammonton ’ s topography .
“ It ’ s not quite the highest point between Philadelphia and Atlantic City — which I always like to think of it is ; Hammonton ’ s a high point anyway — but it ’ s close . What that high area does is separates two drainage areas : the drainage area for the Mullica River basin and the drainage area for the Great Egg Harbor River basin ,” Hozik said . Hozik referenced studies conducted by Daniel Van Abs in 2014
Wednesday , December 1 , 2021 • The Hammonton Gazette • Page 3
Planning board held regular meeting on November 17
by Joseph F . Berenato GAZETTE STAFF WRITER
regarding surface hydrology .
“ There is a problem with pollutants in the surface waters , particularly nitrates due to fertilizers . The report also talks about the sewage treatment plant discharging into Hammonton Creek , but that ’ s no longer true . More recent data regarding local pollution issues is unfortunately not available ,” Hozik said .
Hozik said that Hammonton is “ nearing the limit of the amount of ground water the state will permit us to withdraw .”
“ We would be unable to meet the demand imposed by substantial growth . That ’ s a limit . The sewage treatment plant is also nearing its approved limits , and , without modifications , would have trouble meeting substantial growth ,” Hozik said .
Hozik said that much of the northeastern part Hammonton is a preservation area associated with the Wharton State Forest , and that significant acreage has been preserved through farmland preservation .
“ While that ’ s not popular , one of the things that makes Hammonton an attractive place to live is , in fact , that we have all of this open space and preservation around us . In the long run — I said this in about 1980 — we ’ re going to be grateful that our development has been restricted , because we didn ’ t go crazy into something that was not very attractive ,” Hozik said .
Regarding groundwater , Hozik said that Hammonton annually averages approximately 45 inches that falls on “ porous , sandy soils which effectively filter and store vast quantities of high quality fresh water beneath the ground ’ s surface .”
“ I tell my friends out west that , yeah , in Hammonton , you can stick a straw in the ground almost anywhere and get decent groundwater . Now , that ’ s kind of an overstatement , but it ’ s not all that far from the truth ,” Hozik said . Hozik noted that Hammonton depends on groundwater for its drinking supply .
“ There is solid bedrock ; it ’ s about 2,000 to 2,200 feet below the surface here in Hammonton . It ’ s overlain by layers of sand , gravel and clay — and I think any of us who ’ ve wandered around here at all already knew that ,” Hozik said .
Those sands and gravels , Hozik said , are aquifer , which are “ things that carry water , and , in the right circumstances , can be tapped for water .”
“ We have both confined aquifers — a confined aquifer has a layer above it that water can ’ t go through and a layer below it that water can ’ t go through — and unconfined aquifers ; that ’ s where ,
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