Save Holmdel Drinking Water
Holmdel Township Committee
STOP the Madness!
Save Holmdel Drinking Water!
Did you know that the wastewater management plant for the proposed redevelopment of the former Vonage property (Main Street and Holmdel Road) will discharge its wastewater directly into Willow Brook, a stream that feeds into Swimming River Reservoir and is the source of potable water for Holmdel and 300,000+ Monmouth County residents, for six months of the year?
For the other six months of the year, the wastewater is fed into a lagoon to allow the wastewater to evaporate into the air and percolate into the ground. During this phase, it is also allowed to spray the effluent through a sprinkler-like system to certain parts of the property when evaporating and percolating are not sufficient.
The proposed project consists of 299 senior living, assisted living and skilled nursing units.
Did you know that, on average, each person in assisted living/skilled nursing is on 15 prescription medications, and wastewater treatment plants from 1977 were not designed to remove these chemicals from the water? These pharmaceuticals and prescriptions will wind up in our drinking water.
Even though the developer refers to the wastewater as gray water, the water coming from this development will indeed be black water, which will flow into our Reservoir or be sprayed into the air we breathe.
Under the existing water permit, the wastewater lagoon is located only 100 feet away from Willow Brook. The current environmental standard requires the lagoon to be located at least 300 feet away.
The developer’s wastewater management expert is not aware of any new development using the existing Vonage wastewater management design. The developer’s goal is to be “grandfathered” under existing NJ DEP permits.
This will contaminate the drinking water for us and future generations.
Now, Holmdel’s local governing body, the Township Committee, is proposing to grant a tax break, known as a PILOT program, to the same developer.
This is wrong on so many levels.
Please sign our petition urging the Holmdel Township Committee not to grant any PILOT programs unless and until the developer changes their wastewater management design to a modern design, meeting current standards and not discharging any wastewater directly into any stream that feeds into the source for our potable water!
Help stop the madness, sign our petition, and then share with all your Holmdel family, friends and neighbors.
Check out the links below to two short videos and Facebook pages for more information on Vonage’s proposed wastewater management.
Thank you.
Save Holmdel Water Team
Links to learn more:
Link to Planning Board member Wes Fagan’s Comments
Link to the History of Vonage’s wastewater management system
Sponsored by
To:
Holmdel Township Committee
From:
[Your Name]
The undersigned urge you not to grant any tax break in the form of a PILOT to the redeveloper of the old Vonage property located at 23 Main Street.
Under the current proposal, wastewater is directly discharged into the Willow Brook, a stream that feeds into Swimming River Reservoir and is the source of potable water for Holmdel and 300,000+ Monmouth County residents, for six months of the year.
For the other six months of the year, the wastewater is fed into a lagoon to allow the wastewater to evaporate into the air and percolate into the ground. During this phase, it is also allowed to spray the effluent through a sprinkler-like system to certain parts of the property when evaporating and percolating are not sufficient.
Under the existing water permit, which is almost 50 years old, the wastewater lagoon is located only 100 feet away from Willow Brook. The current environmental standard requires the lagoon to be located at least 300 feet away.
The developer’s wastewater management expert is not aware of any new development using the existing Vonage wastewater management design.
It will contaminate the drinking water for us and future generations.
There should be no PILOT granted unless and until the developer updates their wastewater management design to a modern design, meeting current standards and not discharging any wastewater directly into any stream that feeds into the Swimming River Reservoir!
Thank you.