The Spray Field

Aerial view of the wastewater treatment plant and spray field.
Aerial view of the wastewater treatment plant and spray field.
The pipe system that led from the treatment plant to the spray field.
The pipe system that led from the treatment plant to the spray field.
The spray field nozzles operated year round, which led to over-icing of the vegetation and damage to the fragile pinelands.
The spray field nozzles operated year round, which led to over-icing of the vegetation and damage to the fragile pinelands.

Stockton鈥檚 campus was purchased, planned, and under construction in 1970, but the campus could not open until it settled its utility needs. In particular, the College needed a means of sewage treatment and disposal since there was no regional sewer line nearby. The engineering consultant for the College suggested an onsite treatment plant to handle the wastewater from the dormitories and school buildings, with an accompanying effluent spray irrigation facility to further cleanse the resulting sewage. The entire facility was given provisional approval by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection provided that Stockton cease its operation and tie into the regional sewage system, planned for the College in 1974. This eventually happened in 1982.

The spray field, located near Lake Pam, consisted of irrigation pipes and nozzles. When activated, these nozzles spread the treated wastewater over a 20-foot diameter area. While it was considered an environmentally friendly method of waste disposal in the 1970s, errors in construction of the spray field, overuse, and utilization for longer than expected had an impact in the surrounding pinelands. Read more about the Spray Field in Stockton Stories.

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