Governor McGreevey's effort to focus on Smart Growth has been well received by many of the State's residents. Many of us are frustrated with traffic congestion, crowded schools, and escalating taxes. It's only logical that concentrating growth in designated growth areas and protecting non-growth areas makes fiscal sense. Sprawling development increases the cost of vital infrastructure such as water and sewer lines, school construction and busing, fire and emergency response, and transportation systems. These are obviously the largest expenses for our communities. Implementation of Smart Growth concepts can help control these skyrocketing expenses.
To compliment Smart Growth planning, the state has promulgated innovative stormwater management regulations. These regulations require municipalities to be better stewards of stormwater within their communities. We have all seen traditional stormwater management systems around our towns. They're called detention or retention basins and resemble small ponds. Most of them have safety fencing around them to protect curious children. Unfortunately, these systems have not done very well in protecting our State's streams and rivers.
Stormwater basins collect
rainwater from our neighborhoods
through street side
storm grates and then
discharge that water
to nearby streams and
waterways. Over the
years, the proliferation
of these basins has
stressed area streams
by introducing too much
water to the waterway.
The result has been
streambed scour, stream
bank collapse, loss
of natural vegetation
and the degradation
of water quality. Under
natural conditions,
rainwater infiltrates
into the ground and
moves toward area streams
through underground
flow. This more natural
infiltration process
slows down the flow
of water and enables
the stream to discharge
the rainwater at a slower,
more natural rate.