Application for water main extension hits snag

Proposed development needs 45,000 gallons of water a day, By Tom Hoffman WANTAGE — An application filed by the Sussex Borough water utility for a water main extension to provide water to a proposed 231-unit development at McCoy’s Corner was denied by the State of New Jersey for being incomplete. But Sussex Borough Clerk Catherine Gleason said the borough has filed the required information and that the developer for the project is working on delivering the remainder of the information. In a letter dated Dec. 1, the State of New Jersey’s Division of Water Supply, Water Supply Permitting Element, which is part of the Bureau of Water Systems and Well Permitting under the Department of Environmental Protection, notified Michael Simone of Crew Engineers in Butler that the application the borough’s water utility submitted on Sept. 14 for a water main extension was found to be incomplete. Two reasons The agency cited two deficiencies: the lack of a digital geographic information system distribution system map identifying the borough’s existing and proposed sources and facilities and the water service area. The water utility also provided “insufficient detail” for drawings of the proposed development. According to the letter, “the drawings show approximately 39 service connections but the project description on the application depicts some 365 residential service connections, 175 apartments and 14 non-residential service connections.” Gleason said the borough submitted a CD with the digital GIS distribution system map to the DEP “a long time ago.” She added that the developer for the project, Wantage Ridge Development, is supplying the agency with the additional information that’s requested. Simone, whose company does engineering work for Sussex Borough, told The Advertiser-News in September that the water department had reached an agreement with Wantage Ridge to provide 45,000 gallons of water daily to the site. The proposed development, known as Wantage Village and also as High Ridge, is being planned at the intersections of County routes 565 and 639. The development will consist of a series of townhouses and single-family homes, according to Jim Prassas, the owner of Wantage Ridge Development.