Seven towns, seven different answers on where the water comes from

Ask where the water comes from in Ocean County and the answer depends on the town. Barnegat Township pumps six wells from the Kirkwood-Cohansey. Long Beach Island is divided among borough departments and township sections, with wells hundreds of feet deep. Brick has a river in its supply. Lacey MUA taps three named aquifers, and Toms River runs on Veolia's wells.

Each page here starts with the supplier and quotes that supplier's own report, with its year. Sewer and Pinelands status follow only where a source supports them. Where a report is missing or old, as in Stafford, Toms River and Waretown, the page says so once and points you to the office that has it.

Sources checked Nov. 3, 2026.

• TownLacey draws on three aquifers, and its report shows low hardness

  Lacey and Forked River water comes from the Lacey MUA, whose seven wells tap the Kirkwood-Cohansey, Atlantic City 800-Foot Sand and Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifers.

• TownWaretown's wells, as the township's 2015 report describes them

  Waretown and Ocean Township water comes from the Township of Ocean Department of Utilities.

• TownBarnegat Township pumps all six of its wells from the Kirkwood-Cohansey

  Barnegat Township water comes from the Barnegat Township Utilities Department, whose report says "our six wells draw water from the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer." Capacity is 6.8 million gallons a day.

• TownStafford runs several water systems, each with its own state ID

  Stafford and Manahawkin water comes from Stafford Township Water & Sewer, which lists separate systems with their own state IDs.

• TownOn Long Beach Island, your water depends on which section you live in

  Long Beach Island water depends on where you stand on it.

• TownVeolia runs Toms River's water for about 125,000 people

  Toms River water comes from Veolia, which serves about 125,000 people here, in South Toms River and in parts of Berkeley.

• TownBrick is the odd one out, with a river in its water supply

  Brick water comes from the Metedeconk River, the Brick Reservoir, wells nearly 2,000 feet deep in the Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifer and a small amount from the Cohansey.