Over-Development Was Blamed as a Prime Cause of the Poor State of New Jersey’s Wells

Under New Jersey’s Private Well Testing Act some 62,000 of the state’s wells were tested between 2002 and 2009.  A surprising one in eight of these wells was in violation of safe limits for mercury, arsenic, nitrates or VOCs (volatile organic compounds).  Over-development was blamed for the extensive well pollution.  Another study found that 1/3 of wells are affected by over-development.

“New Jersey is failing when it comes to protecting families on individual wells from pollution. Not only do one-in-eight wells actually fail and are a risk to public health, but there are thousands of other wells that put people at risk. This is not only a serious health problem, but it shows that over development and the failure to clean up contaminated sites could be impacting people’s health,” according to  Jeff Tittel, Director, NJ Sierra Club.

Read the full report of details.