Franklin Lakes March 14, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 5 United Water to present plans for new tank by Frank J. McMahon United Water NJ is expected to present its plans for a six million gallon concrete and steel water tank at the March 21 planning board meeting. The tank is slated for construction on approximately three acres of Bergen County parkland at the Saddle Ridge Riding Center on the Campgaw Mountain Reservation in Franklin Lakes. According to preliminary plans, the tank would be 200 feet in diameter and would be a circular ground level tank with a domed roof. The sides of the tank would be about 15 feet tall and the height from the bottom of the tank to the top of the highest point of the roof would be about 40 feet. The site would be fenced and there would be remote mounted cameras to observe the site, but no audible or visual flashing lights or alarms are proposed. A gate to the water tank site would be located on the easement north of the riding center access road, but the proposed tank would not inhibit or change the access to the riding center. The 97.7-acre Saddle Ridge Riding Center property is located in the borough’s A-130 residential zone and is owned by Bergen County. United Water has acquired a three-acre portion of the property as a result of a diversion easement whereby the county is acquiring 13.9 acres on Omaha Way in compensation for the three acres the county is diverting from Green Acres property at the Saddle Ridge Riding Center. The tank would either be encircled by an earthen berm or the sides of the tank would be buried and the surrounding area would be landscaped to help hide it from view. The exposed portions of the tank might also be painted a color that would allow it to blend into the surrounding landscape. United Water claims the elevation of the subject property is ideal because the tank could be operated by way of gravity so the water would not have to be pumped out of the tank to customers. In addition, it would be the most failsafe mode of operation, the quietest operation, and would use the least amount of energy. The planning board deemed the United Water application complete in February when Nick Curcio, the project manager for United Water, advised that the tank was needed due to the growth in population and water consumption in the western portion of Bergen County, which is currently served by water pumped from the United Water facility in Haworth. Curcio said the new water tank would provide water and fire protection service for the riding center at the end of Shadow Ridge Road, and would increase water pressure to the houses in the area of the new water tank located west of Route 287. He also advised that the tank would have a standby generator in case of a power failure. That generator would be located outside the tank facility, but would comply with the requirements of the local noise ordinance. The existing water tank on Cottonwood Drive can hold up to 1.5 million gallons but, according to United Water Senior Vice President of Communications Richard Henning, the existing tank cannot meet the higher demands of the future. Henning said the proposed water storage tank facility would help to improve fire protection while also improving system-wide pressure in the morning when many Franklin Lakes homes have lawn sprinklers running. He added that the new tank would help United Water improve service throughout the entire northwest Bergen County area. According to Henning, the tank on Cottonwood Drive would work in harmony with the proposed tank. He added that, since the park site was previously disturbed when the property was used by the military as a missile base, the impact on the environment would be minimal.