Last updated/Reviewed on July 21, 2026
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.
The Alliance 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. This was appealed in court in 2024 and resolved in favor of the Pinelands Commission and Pinelands Alliance in 2026.
Current Status
Rules to protect the Kirkwood-Cohansey Aquifer have been in effect since December 4, 2023.
The rules were affirmed on July 15, 2026 following a legal 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. The Alliance 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, The Alliance 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.
After the Pinelands Commission strengthened water withdrawal rules in late 2023 to protect the Kirkwood-Cohansey Aquifer, Clayton Sand Company filed an appeal in early 2024, contending overreach and defective rulemaking. Winslow Township aligned with the challenge as amicus in late 2024. Pinelands Alliance aligned itself with the Pinelands Commission as amicus to defend the rules. In July of 2026, the New Jersey Appellate Division affirmed the Pinelands Commission’s 2023 amendments (in laymen’s terms: the Pinelands Commission won!).
Timeline
2010’s: Environmental advocates like The Alliance 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.
July 31, 2024: Clayton Sand Company’s appellate brief was submitted to the New Jersey Appellate Division.
September 16, 2024: Winslow Township filed a motion to intervene or appear as amicus curiae in support of Clayton’s appeal.
November 12, 2024: Winslow Township formally filed its amicus brief and appendix.
November 26, 2024: The Pinelands Commission submitted its merits brief (over‑length motion granted).
December 23, 2024: Pinelands Alliance filed a motion to participate as an Amici Curae.
January 14, 2025: The public hearing that The Alliance and partners requested from NJDEP in order to express our concerns over a water allocation permit application submitted by Pinelands Golf Course in Winslow Township was officially “postponed” the day before the scheduled hearing.
January 30, 2025: The Court issued an order granting Pinelands Alliance’s request to appear as an amicus and accepted its brief for filing.
October 29, 2025: Oral argument was held.
July 15, 2026: The New Jersey Appellate Division affirmed the Pinelands Commission’s 2023 amendments.
