Select Link ---------------------------- Biosolids (sludge) Clean Water Priority List Combined Sewer Overflows Database Info Discharge From STPs Discharge to Ground Water Forms and Checklists General Permits Industrial Discharges to STPs Municipal Financing News Items NJ Discharger Newsletter NJPDES Permit Fees Onsite Septic Systems Operator's Forum Permit and Monitoring Info Permitting/Technical Info Publications Rules and Regulations Stormwater Students and Teachers Surface Water Discharges Treatment Works Approvals Wastewater Reuse

Program Units ---------------------------- Administration and Mgt. Division Organization Director's Message Financing-Const. Permits Municipal Finance/Const. Nonpoint Pollution Control Permit Management Pretreatment and Residuals Point Source Permitting 1 Point Source Permitting 2 Program Dev.-Tech Services Watershed Permitting

DID YOU KNOW?

Did You Kow? The municipal and industrial facilities regulated by the Division of Water Quality are involved in one of the largest on-going recycling projects in New Jersey-that of transforming over 5.6 billion gallons of "used" water per day into a reclaimed product-clean water.

Did You Kow? Sixty four percent of the biosolids (sewage sludge) generated in New Jersey are being beneficially reused (land applied or processed into a fertilizer or lime equivalent). This means it's not being disposed of in a landfill, incinerator, or the ocean. Prior to 1985, only 6 percent of New Jersey's biosolids were beneficially used.

Land application of biosolids

Did You Kow? Over 10,000 dry tons of biosolids are being directly applied to just over 2,000 acres of farmland in New Jersey every year.

Sewage sludge processed

Did You Kow? Over 170,000 dry tons of biosolids are being processed every year. These biosolids are treated to remove disease causing organisms before being used by farmers as a fertilizer or soil conditioner. To date, biosolids may be applied to nearly 25,000 acres of farmland in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Some processed biosolids are also marketed by permitted facilities to landscapers, nurseries and to users in other states.

Ocean dumping halted

Did You Kow? Prior to 1991, over 450 dry tons of sewage sludge was dumped into the ocean every day. Today, no sewage sludge is disposed of in the ocean.

Biosolids (Sewage Sludge) Quality Improving

Did You Kow? Since 1981, there has been a steady improvement in biosolids quality from domestic treatment works in New Jersey (see chart below). Today, 92 percent of the domestic treatment works in New Jersey can meet the minimum requirements for land application under the federal rules (40 CFR Part 503) and 69 percent can meet the "high quality" requirements for land application specified under federal rules. This demonstrates the biosolids being produced by New Jersey generators is generally low in pollutants, rich in nutrients and organic matter, and highly suitable for recycling. This high quality is a result of both public and private clean water and pretreatment efforts.

Where does all the sludge go?

Did You Kow? Since 1989, statewide residuals management has shifted dramatically from reliance on ocean disposal, to out-of-state disposal, to in-state and out-of-state beneficial use systems (see chart below).

Did You Kow? Before the enactment of the Clean Water Act in 1972, there were approximately 100 primary sewage treatment plants in New Jersey (primary plants were designed to eliminate only 60 percent of the solid material in wastewater and 35 percent of the oxygen depleting pollutants). Today, all sewage receives a minimum of secondary treatment (a process that eliminates 85 percent of the solid material and oxygen depleting pollutants in wastewater).

Did You Kow? Over $4.5 billion in federal and state grants and loans was spent in New Jersey to upgrade all wastewater conveyance and treatment systems. The Municipal Wastewater Assistance Program and the New Jersey Wastewater Treatment Trust have awarded $1.4 billion in low interest loans to finance the cost of drinking water and wastewater conveyance and treatment projects.

Did You Kow? New Jersey has 6,450 miles of rivers, 24,000 acres of public lakes, 900,000 acres of freshwater and tidal wetlands, 120 miles of ocean coastline, and 420 square miles of open estuarine waters.

Did You Kow? Of approximately 1,617 stream miles evaluated and monitored for aquatic plant and animal life, 68 percent are fully supporting aquatic life use (fish propagation and maintenance). Nineteen percent have moderately degraded fish communities (partially meeting aquatic life use), and only 13 percent are classified as not meeting the intended use.

Did You Kow? All New Jersey coastal beaches from Sandy Hook south to Cape May are fully swimmable.

Did You Kow? Of the estuary waters monitored for shellfish harvesting (614 square miles), 73 percent fully support shellfish harvesting, 20 percent partially support this use, while only 7 percent do not support the intended use.

Did You Kow? All monitored estuary waters fully support aquatic life use.

Did You Kow? In monitored ocean waters (439 sq. miles), 76 percent fully support shellfish harvesting, while 24 percent do not support the use. New Jersey waters clean enough to be classified "harvestable" (ocean and bay) have increased over the last 18 years. In 1976, just under 75 percent were deemed harvestable, while in 1994 the number climbed to 85 percent.

Did You Kow? In 1972, only a third of the waterbodies in the United States were fishable/swimmable. Today, almost two thirds are fishable/swimmable.