Homeowners will have option of connecting to public water

Homeowners will have option
of connecting to public water

JACKSON — Under terms of a revised ordinance homeowners who rely on private wells will have the option of hooking up to a public water line when that service passes their homes.

After listening to the concerns of some members of the public, the Township Committee adopted revisions to an ordinance pertaining to water system connections.

The ordinance adopted late last month repeals a section of the previous township code and replaces it with a new one that committee members said will better reflect the needs of the community as a whole.

The revised ordinance states that an existing home located on a street that is within 100 feet of public water service must connect to the water system within 180 days of receiving notice of the availability of the water. However, there are exceptions which will allow residents the option of maintaining their private wells and septic systems and not require them to hook up to public service.

At meetings held in June and July, residents whose homes are served by private wells said they felt they were being forced to hook up to a water system they did not want or need.

After hearing from the public, committee members then worked with representatives of the Jackson Township Municipal Water Authority (JTMUA) to come up with a solution that would satisfy the needs of the community and satisfy the law as well.

Committee members said they believed the revised law satisfies this criteria. Members of the governing body said they believe they achieved a balance by adding a section into the ordinance that gives residents the option of connecting to a public water line, rather than mandating the connection.

The "exemption" section states that any existing single-family residential property (including those with home-based business), if served by a properly functioning well, will be exempt from hooking up to the public water system. The ordinance states that any exceptions granted will terminate upon the failure of the property’s well. This exemption applies only to existing homes, not to those under construction.

Public concern arose over at least two issues — the wording of certain sections of the ordinance and a section that states that each homeowner will now need to install two water meters.

The ordinance states that each homeowner will install two meters in each home. One meter will be used for internal water use and the other for all external use, including but not limited to an irrigation system.

At the Aug. 27 meeting, one resident asked why she would need two meters if she was only planning to connect to the public water system for domestic, internal use. She told the committee she would be keeping the use of her well for outside purposes and therefore did not understand why she would need a second meter.

Township Attorney Kevin Starkey said that having two meters would be a benefit to the resident rather than a drawback, as the resident claimed. He told her two meters would be used because the cost for water used externally would be priced at a lower rate than water intended for internal use.

The resident continued to question committee members, asking them to explain why she needed a second meter.

JTMUA Executive Director Scott Bundy said the resident would not need a second meter if she was only going to be hooking up to the water line for internal use.

The resident insisted that because the ordinance stated that she would need two meters she worried that five years "down the road" if the issue came up and the ordinance needed to be interpreted by a judge that she might be forced to add a second water meter.

Bundy said she would only need a second meter if she decided to connect to the public septic system as well.

The woman insisted that the ordinance left too much up to interpretation and asked that the law be clarified by adding a phrase that would assure her that she would not need a second meter down the road.

In addressing the committee, former Mayor Vicki Rickabaugh said she believed there were too many loopholes in the revised ordinance. She said the committee’s intent did not seem to match how the ordinance was written.

She read the section of the ordinance that she said disturbed her: "After 180 days from the service of notice that such public water supply is available, the operation and maintenance of any private well supplying water for domestic use is declared to be a health hazard and a nuisance, except for those exempt properties."

"This means my well is condemned?" Rickabaugh asked committee members. "Your words here tonight say I’m not (condemned), but the words on this paper say I am. How do you decide my well is suddenly a nuisance one day after the 180-day notice has been served?"

"When you hook up to the water system you no longer will have a well service for your home use," Starkey said.

Committeeman Sean Giblin told Rickabaugh that he "knew what your motives were."

"There is nothing we can say to convince you anyway," he said.

"My motives are pure and I think you are being very rude," Rickabaugh said.

Deputy Mayor Michael Broderick said Rickabaugh knew the ordinance would have a second reading on Aug. 27 but did not notify municipal officials of her concerns prior to the meeting.

"Instead of making us delay this ordinance now, why didn’t you call town hall earlier? You could have given us advance notice of your concerns," Broderick said.

"We called many times and we were called liars," Rickabaugh said.

"I know we’re political adversaries," Broderick said, "but if you had put this in writing, if you really wanted to work together you would have taken the proper steps."

"We did take the proper steps," Rickabaugh responded. "We were polite and respectful and we did ask the questions."

During the exchanges between members of the public and the committee, the tension level as well as the noise level from the audience increased to the point that Mayor Joseph Grisanti had to use his gavel to quiet audience members as he told the crowd, "I will run an orderly meeting."

Starkey said the reading and interpretation of any ordinance needs a "common sense approach."

"You have to look at it as a whole thing in order to interpret it and make sense out of it," Starkey said, adding that "there are always three or four ways to read the same sentence."

Grisanti said crafting the revised water system ordinance was a long task.

"This could go on and on and on for the next six months, end up as a 50-page ordinance and it would still need a common-sense approach," said the mayor.

Committee members reiterated that the owners of existing homes do not have to hook up to a public water system if they have a properly functioning well and if they sign a release, to be provided by the JTMUA, attesting to their desire to maintain their well.

In a subsequent conversation, Grisanti explained that "many laws have mandatory requirements. Those same laws may have mechanisms for waivers from the mandatory requirements in the appropriate circumstances."

He said the JTMUA administrators had the discretion to waive certain elements of the ordinance based on the facts of the situations.

Grisanti also explained that one of the main reasons the law was written this way is so developers would not be able to have "an out" to escape the requirement of having to install two meters in every house.

"People are making a problem where no problem exists," the mayor said. "There is not a town in New Jersey that I’m aware of that has such a resident-friendly MUA ordinance for hook-ups."

The revised ordinance was modeled after water ordinances in Berkley and Stafford townships, according to Starkey. He said those ordinances have been challenged in court and upheld.