Do you know where your water comes from?

New Jerseyans in 16 counties rely on the Highlands for all or some of their drinking water. Highlands reservoirs, rivers and aquifers supply water for over 5.4 million people - 65 percent of the state's population.

Monksville Reservoir, Passaic County Click for Full Photo

If you live in the Highlands in Bergen, Hunterdon, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex or Warren counties, your water most likely comes from private or public wells that draw on the region's groundwater.

If you live outside the Highlands in Passaic, Essex, or Hudson counties, it is likely that 50 percent to 100 percent of your water is Highlands water. Much of Bergen, Union, Somerset, Middlesex and Mercer counties rely on the Highlands for at least 25 percent of their supply. Even Monmouth, Burlington, Camden and Gloucester counties utilize some Highlands water.

The adoption of the New Jersey Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act in 2004 was a historic effort to save New Jersey's endangered water supply from the impacts of inappropriate land uses. As development occurs on more than 3,000 Highlands acres every year, water purifying forests and farmland are replaced with impervious surfaces - roofs, roads, parking lots. Water can no longer make its way into the ground to aquifers that supply wells and replenish stream flows during droughts.

Already, demand for water exceeds availability in over half of the Highlands watersheds! And demand will continue to grow as population increases inside and outside the region. The Highlands represent a regional problem that requires a regional solution.

Wilma Frey [About] Highlands Project Manager NJ Conservation Foundation 1 (800) LAND-SAVE wilma@njconservation.org

Regional planning has proven to be the only way to protect important public resources like water supply, natural areas and wildlife. Only effective regional planning can overcome the weaknesses of New Jersey's "home-rule" political process.

The draft Highlands Regional Master Plan, mandated to implement the Act, was released in November 2006 by the Highlands Council. Goals of the regional plan are to protect the state's water supply, forests - critical for water protection - as well as wildlife habitat, farmland and historic, cultural, recreational and scenic resources.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Please help NJCF support a strong Regional Master Plan by commenting on the Highlands Council website at highlands.state.nj.us or by mail to NJ Highlands Council, Draft Plan Comments, 100 North Road, Chester, NJ 07930.