Fresh drinking water is not a commodity with unending supplies. Currently Ridgewood primarily draws its water from wells tapping aquifers underground. These aquifers are recharged by surface water that flows down through the ground, hence the modern zoning requirements for retention pits/dry wells when property is developed. Unfortunately other chemicals are also carried down into the aquifers with this water from sources such as old leaking oil/gas tanks, dry cleaner chemicals, lawn fertilizers and pesticides. If it gets poured onto the ground it ends up in our drinking water at some point. In some circumstances if more water is pumped out of aquifers than is coming in (such as in Long Island) ocean water containing salt cam be sucked into the aquifers, degrading the water quality and ultimately making it undrinkable. There can even be settling and cracking of the ground with over pumping ( https://geochange.er.usgs.gov/sw/changes/anthropogenic/subside/ ). With these conditions in mind, I would suggest the smart way to deal with our water issues is to find ways to conserve water and minimize use as opposed to drilling more wells to increase capacity. This has happened nationally for years with toilets that flush with less water and the newer dual flush models, water faucets and shower heads that limit flow and other efforts that have reduced our water use without changing lifestyles much. In the end from May till September, our high usage months, 2/3 of the water we use is sprinkled on lawns so the question is how much money do we want to spend and what chances with screwing up our water quality do we want to take in order to keep grass green in summer months instead of just letting it go dormant and greening up again when the post summer rains fall?
