Last updated/Reviewed on June 18, 2025
Overview
The Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer is a shallow groundwater system that underlies much of the Pinelands in southern New Jersey. It supplies drinking water to hundreds of thousands of residents and sustains the wetlands, streams, and rare species that define the region’s globally significant ecology. Scientific research demonstrated that even modest groundwater withdrawals can cause irreversible harm to wetlands, stream flow, and the unique plant and animal life that depend on them.
PPA advocated for decades that evidence-based protections should be put in place for these critical water supplies. In response, the Pinelands Commission adopted long-overdue amendments to the Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP) in December 2023 to strengthen aquifer protections. Clayton Sand Company has appealed this decision.
Current Status
Rules to protect the Kirkwood-Cohansey Aquifer have been in effect since December 4, 2023.
The rules are the subject of an ongoing appeal (A‑001476‑23) by Clayton Sand Company and its amicus curiae Winslow Township.
Background Information
New Jersey’s water supply faces several big challenges, from lead in drinking water, to widespread contamination with chemicals like PFOAs, to vulnerability to droughts. A major threat to the Pinelands is over-pumping of the Kirkwood-Cohansey Aquifer. PPA has been advocating for the Pinelands Commission and Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to make changes to their rules to reverse over-pumping and ensure the aquifer is always used sustainably.
The “surficial” Kirkwood-Cohansey Aquifer is right below our feet when in the Pinelands, as the sands that make up New Jersey’s outer coastal plain are full of water. This water supplies all the streams and wetlands of the Pinelands (and beyond). That means that when the aquifer is over-pumped for human uses, streams and wetlands are starved of water. The Aquifer is also a critical source of drinking water for residents and visitors to the Pinelands and the Jersey Shore. For more information and some great graphics, see Groundwater and Aquifers in the Pinelands.
For decades, PPA has pressed the Pinelands Commission to strengthen their rules and better protect the aquifer from excessive withdrawals for human use. The Pinelands Commission amended the Comprehensive Management Plan (CMP) in 2023 to better protect the Kirkwood-Cohansey Aquifer. Major features of the rules include:
- The Commission now limits groundwater withdrawals to 20% of minimum ecological flow, a stricter standard than NJDEP’s 25%, to provide a buffer for climate change and account for unregulated agricultural use.
- It lowered the permitting threshold from 100,000 to 50,000 gallons per day, expanding oversight of wells tapping the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer.
- A new management approach prohibits water transfers between the aquifer’s two major drainage basins—Atlantic Ocean and Delaware Bay—to protect local water balances.
- All existing withdrawals in a given HUC-11 watershed must now be considered when reviewing new withdrawal applications.
However, the battle is not over. In early 2024, Clayton Sand Company filed a legal challenge to overturn the amendments, and Winslow Township joined the case in support of the industry’s position. The case is now pending in court, threatening to undo hard-won safeguards and underscoring the ongoing need for vigilance in protecting New Jersey’s most vulnerable water resources.
Timeline
2010’s: Environmental advocates like PPA urged the Pinelands Commission to act on the research findings and limit excessive groundwater withdrawals, especially from sand mining and other high-consumption activities. The Commission undertook internal planning and scoping work for regulatory changes but made limited progress in formally advancing rule amendments.
2019-2020: The Commission’s staff began drafting amendments to CMP regulations to better manage aquifer withdrawals in ecologically sensitive areas.
October 14, 2022: The Pinelands Commission formally proposed CMP amendments in the New Jersey Register.
December 4, 2023: The Pinelands Commission unanimously adopted the CMP amendments, finalizing new regulatory limits on groundwater withdrawals in ecologically sensitive sub-watersheds.
February 26, 2024: Clayton Sand Company filed a Notice of Appeal (A‑001476‑23) challenging the CMP amendments as procedurally and substantively flawed.