Dear Editor:
Another beautiful Autumn day right? Yes and no. Blue skies but another day with no significant rainfall. This Monday morning while walking to the Post Office could not help but to notice, Parsippany Parks & Forestry watering the flower pots along North Beverwyck Ave, in Lake Hiawatha. It seems our officials, like most of us are not taking the Drought warning with any seriousness. To boot while watering the flowers, many of which are already dormant or dead, litter/trash is left in the immediate areas of the flower pots.
With all the boasting at Town Hall about what a great job everyone that works for Parsippany is doing, its obvious that their ability to do more than one job task at a time is disconcerting.
What would it take to have them clean the streets as they are watering the flowers; but why are they watering flowers this time of season and during Drought Warning? Apparently no communication skills exist with the administration and the local businesses whom despite a street cleaning ordinance do not clean their immediate spaces before the day begins or ends. Storm drains are full of plastic debris.
NJDEP declared the Drought Condition on October 21. Citing “an entrenched pattern of little rain, increased demand for water and warmer than average temperatures this year. After the extreme drought of 1965, several addition reservoirs were constructed, even with this additional back up system we are depleting and diminishing our water resources. Parsippany does not protect its ground water recharge areas, and is presently engaged in developing several environmentally sensitive areas. Loss of recharge is one of the main reason for the almost yearly water deficit “Parsippany” in particular always finds itself. 65% of Par-Troys water comes from the buried valley aquifer, which each summer experiences drawdowns and is the reason that two other private water source; diversions are required for Par-Troy to meet its demand; JCMUA & MCMUA. The NJHighlands which Parsippany is part of generates almost 870 million gallons a day for water use; plus an additional 600 MGD to urban areas of North and Central NJ.
Despite Par-Troy Master Plan’s goal to protect and conserve their water supply it goes unheeded and ignored by our Planning Board. Parsippany passes off this responsibility to NJDEP rather than protect remaining landscapes important to the ground water recharge cycle. Land use and water protections cannot be separated; but apparently are in the politics of Parsippany’s closed door deals with developers.
Parsippany has no Master Plan improvements or protections under its present home rule. Rejecting Regional Conformance in July 2014 it lost the opportunity to advance into the future of water protection proper land use and legal protections that would be saving tax payers millions. We are being short changed. WHY ARE WE WATERING DEAD/DORMANT FLOWERS WHEN THERE IS A DROUGHT WARNING? Is Parsippany Commons on Route 46 still watering their lawn; anybody notice or care?
Nick Homyak
Lake Hiawatha, NJ 07034
