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Hi all,
We recently relocated to NJ. I was born here, but my wife isn't familiar with the area. We are currently looking for a new home in the Bridgewater, Warren and Watchung areas -- convenient commute to my job. We found a home off of Johnston Dr. in Watchung that hits most of the marks, but being unfamiliar with the area we didn't realize that there is the Weldon Quarry relatively close. Based on my research, it sounds like this is used to mine for basalt and concrete supplies.
Does this pose any health concerns or other risks? Does anyone live nearby that can comment on it? It's a rather significant investment and the nearby quarry raised a last minute concern for us. I tried researching to see if there are any known issues or feedback from residents and information is scarce. The only thing I found was a retaining wall collapse a few years ago due to flash flooding. Otherwise, no information regarding noise, health concerns, dust, blasting frequency, etc. It would be great to hear from someone that lives or lived in the area that could comment on living near the quarry.
Also, one other question. We are unfamiliar with well water systems. We found another potential home and it had well water and public sewers. It is a newer construction home, so the well was installed within the last 3 years. This home is also in Watchung, but on the western edge of the borough. Some agents are trying to convince us that well water is a positive selling point and from an outsiders perspective it raised red flags. Any advice or thoughts from those familiar with the area if well water should be a concern? Do wells every dry up during droughts or are there any other concerns?
Well water is not a “definite selling point”. It is neutral at best. Yes you don’t have to pay a water bill, but you have to maintain a well. Wells don’t last forever, and they can cost a fortune to re-drill. Pressure is usually a concern. Contamination is a concern. And yes, a well can run dry during an extended drought. In the northern NJ market in your price range, I would classify a well as a negative.
As for the quarry, which is also an asphalt plant, noise and dust are the major concerns. Quarry activity starts at 4:30 AM, Mon-Sat, and the trucks are often queued up and running. The best option is for you to interview the neighbors, look at their cars, look at the surfaces of their decks, play areas, pools, etc. and see for yourself. Your agent should be able to arrange a few of these interviews. Persistent dust is a major concern around quarries, in addition to the obvious noise. I wouldn’t purchase without talking to 3 neighbors in person.
That particular quarry is running out of mountain, and is beginning to throttle output. So while they are not about to close or anything, a potential land use change could be on the distant horizon. Since the property has industrial zoning, you don’t know what could end up there.
Thank you Marc for the quick and detailed response. My gut was telling me that a well with a home in our price range was a negative and would limit resale potential.
Great suggestion regarding the quarry and speaking with neighbors! Also, great to know that this quarry is running out of mountain and the potential risk regarding potential future use.
Quarry - Go by and see at different times of the day is my major suggestion.
Growing up in the general area, I can say that I have rarely if ever seen complaints/issues make it to the news (and I have occasionally seen them regarding Stavola in Bridgewater - probably at least in part because that one has a subdivision right up against it). That may be because of long-time residents who are just used to it, it may be that they run a good operation or the topography limits how disruptive it is. I know blasting is done at times, I have no idea how disruptive you may find it.
While I do not think there is any binding decision on the long-term reuse of the property, there have been past comments at township committee meetings indicating that the borough would likely rezone it for office center use after the quarry runs out. Ex: https://watchungnj.gov/PB/2015/PB_minutes042115.pdf
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Regarding the overall area, there is a 230 unit apartment complex (partly to meet affordable housing requirements) going in off Bonnie Burn Rd across from the firehouse. That may substantially change the views from properties on the east end of Johnston Dr from forest to apartment building. I'd look into that very carefully if that affects your decisions.
Wells are fairly common in the region. I certainly wouldn't call it a positive, but I also don't think it would doom your property. As a pure anecdote which is not in any way valid statistical data: I knew a bunch of people with wells in the surrounding towns and they never had any issues with wells running dry. Well pumps do fail and need replacement, and most people had water softeners, which are another ongoing maintenance/upkeep item.
Thank you Millerm277 for your response. Good information regarding potential use of the quarry after it runs out. By the way, is there any speculation on how many years out that is? My wife was going to drive by this week to try and speak to some neighbors and get a sense of the quarry activity.
I also appreciate the info on the apartment complex. I recently read about that during my research on the quarry. Definitely another consideration.
I'm familiar with the area. There is definitely some serious air pollution in the vicinity of the quarry.
I used to smell it going up New Providence road to connect to route 78.
Not to mention the endless troupe of dump trucks carrying who knows what and often spilling stuff onto the road.
One of the things that made me wonder if New Jersey was a normal place when I moved here.
I forget that there's a quarry at the end of Johnston Drive. My father used to own the gas station on Somerset Street next to the police station. We had well water too. It was the best tasting well water around.
Weldon used to quarry the lot where the police station sits. My father owned the gas station from 1967 until he died in 2006. We never had any issues.
Personally, Bonnie Burn Road is more of a danger with trucks because back when I used to work for my father, those dump trucks used to fly down it. I always had my eye on them if they were behind me.
Hopefully the OP gives an update on whether he bought the house or not.
We didn’t buy the home close to the quarry. We ended up buying the other home in Watchung with well water and have been very happy.
We spoke to a few people that live near the quarry and it didn’t sound like there were any issues from residents. Our concern was with the apartment complex that was proposed and impacts to traffic / infrastructure and ultimately resale value. There were simply too many unknowns for us to make a significant home investment in that area of Watchung.
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