The Money Island Marina water well was drilled by Vance Skinner in 1948.
In a 1971 report by the NJDEP in cooperation with the US Department of the Interior Geological Survey the well is listed as a “semi-public system” operated by the Pollino family that ran the marina at that time. The well was 374 feet at that time and it was drilled to 400 feet more recently. It taps into the Cohansey-Kirkwood aquifer.
When I first arrived at Money Island that well served all of the houses from the Bayview Bridge to the cabins on Nantuxent and the commercial docks. Each home paid $100 each year to tap into the system. The lines for that system remain in the ground but are not used.
Over the years additional wells were installed but most are (or will be) eliminated through the Blue Acres buyouts.
After Superstorm Sandy we made major improvements to modernize the well, replace the pump, bladder and elevate the pump house. That work was performed by John Roesly of Cedarville. A new line was installed under the road to my cabin. The well was placed on a separate property deed.
In the past decade the Cumberland County Health Department began harassing the Money Island users of the semi-public system. That was likely a consideration of some property owners who elected to sell their homes to the state.
We briefly considered licensing the water system as a public utility but realized this was impractical in such a small community. Our inspection costs would be the same as a larger city system with many more users. I made some legal changes to bring the marina properties and my properties into compliance but didn’t have the resources to challenge the government on their claim the island’s water system was not grandfathered as legal.
