WHAT WE DO - Ground Water Protection Committee

In the central Passaic River basin, over 70% of the residents depend on groundwater for their drinking water supplies. In the Highlands, nearly everyone uses groundwater. The Ground Water Protection Committee (GWPC, formerly PVGWPC for “Passaic Valley”) was established in 1980 to provide a coordinated perspective on groundwater management throughout the Passaic River watershed.

Since its founding, the GWPC has been continuously involved in research and education on this region’s groundwater resources. Today, GWPC remains the only intermunicipal organization dedicated to the preservation and enhancement of groundwater in the State of New Jersey.

It serves as an advisory board on topics such as recharge, stream base flow, and maintenance of adequate water supplies for the counties, municipalities, and people within the Passaic River watershed. The Ground Water Summit provides a forum for public discussion on these crucial issues.

The chair of Ground Water Protection Committee is Richard Plambeck.

The Passaic River Coalition is very active in groundwater protection. There are regularly held meetings on the subject. Please, check website regularly for the upcoming meetings.

The Committee also publishes the quarterly newsletter Ground Water Sentinel that keeps its readers up-to-date on ground water issues throughout the Passaic River Watershed. The sentinel is now available online (see below) and can be sent free to interested groups, individuals and to public libraries.

To request a CD of 'Planning for Well Head Protection for Ground Water from the Whippany, Chatham & Millburn Valleys of the Buried Valley Aquifer Systems' book, please contact GIS_Specialist@passaicriver.org.