BTMUA will supply Howell’s Ramtown area

Parkway Water Co.

discovered radiation

in wells over summer

BY KARL VILACOBA

Staff Writer

Authorities in Brick have agreed to supply drinking water to the Ramtown section of Howell until radiation contamination found in its well-water supply is eliminated.

Under the agreement, the Brick Township Municipal Utilities Authority (BTMUA) can provide up to 500,000 gallons per day through Ramtown’s current supplier, Parkway Water Co., of Marlboro. The water will supplement Parkway Water’s potable supply, and make up for any shortages that will arise while their contaminated wells are out of service.

Parkway Water supplies the Ramtown School, the Greenville School and Howell Middle School South, as well as 1,800 surrounding homes in Howell. Ramtown, the southern section of Howell which borders Brick, is already connected to the township’s underground pipes in case of emergencies, according to Daniel Newman, chairman of the BTMUA Board of Commissioners.

Before the BTMUA begins, Parkway Water will flush all of its southern wells into stormwater drains, testing the water for contaminants as they go, Newman said. The measures will ensure that the BTMUA’s contributions won’t become contaminated through mixing, and will locate the exact areas, sources and extent of the problem, he said.

In July, Parkway Water’s customers received a letter informing them that water samples tested from two of the company’s wells had shown elevated levels of gross alpha radionuclides and Radium 226 and 228, radioactive elements that exceeded state-accepted norms. The contaminant is a naturally occurring phenomenon in soil that is activated by excessive lime and fertilizer use as well as the movement of the soils.

State Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) scientist Gerald Nicholls, who attended a recent Howell Board of Education meeting, told residents that radium’s health risk lies in the fact that it mimics calcium — once ingested, it sits in the bones. A person would have to drink 2 liters of water a day for 70 years, and even then the chances of getting cancer would be 1 in 10,000, Nicholls said.

The Brick Township Council was required to pass a resolution Sept. 23 authorizing the BTMUA to sell water to a customer in a neighboring community. The resolution permits the BTMUA to supply Parkway Water for a period of 30 days. Further resolutions are necessary to continue the arrangement.

The BTMUA will charge Parkway Water the same bulk rate which applies to Point Pleasant Borough and Point Pleasant Beach, which draw water from the BTMUA, Newman said.

"I believe this is an emergency, and I believe Brick Township should proceed with this as a good neighbor," Councilwoman Kathy Russell said.

Most on the council agreed, and passed the measure by a 6-1 vote. The lone dissenter was Councilman Stephen Acropolis.

Because the situation arose two months before Howell asked for help, Acropolis said he doubted there was a legitimate emergency. The councilman said his "number one concern is the residents of Brick," and raised questions about whether connecting to Howell might contaminate or drain Brick’s own supply.

"Before I give water to another township, in another county, I wanted all of my questions answered," Acropolis said after the meeting. "If we had to vote again, I might vote yes if all of those questions were answered."

Newman said there was no chance that contaminated water could rush back into Brick’s supply. He volunteered to appear at future council meetings to answer any questions the group might have.

"Perhaps, as a (BTMUA) chairman, I should have been there last night. That’s my mistake," Newman said.

The BTMUA draws surface water from the Metedeconk River for the majority of its supply, but is building a billion-gallon reservoir along the Brick-Wall Township border. A pipeline connecting the BTMUA’s intakes to the reservoir, Herbertsville Road, will pump water during rainstorms and periods of high water levels to the reservoir to fill it. The reservoir is expected to be ready for use next year.

Reflecting on Howell’s contaminated wells, Newman said the BTMUA could one day supply the area when its reservoir is complete.

"In the long haul, this reservoir is going to be a tremendous asset for Brick Township and the surrounding communities in terms of supplying good, clean water," Newman said. "I’m not sure you can really say the same about well wa­ter."

–– Staff Writer Kathy Baratta contributed to this story.