The Hopewell Township Committee and Mayor Courtney Peters-Manning say they have been working closely with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Hamilton Township Mayor Jeff Martin, and other local officials to develop a regional solution for the Trenton Water Works utility, which has been under direct operational oversight by NJDEP since October 2022, yet is still on the brink of catastrophic failure according to independent third-party evaluators hired by NJDEP.
On July 29, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn LaTourette formally urged the City of Trenton to commit to the process of hiring a regionalization support services provider and begin the process of establishing a regional utility.
That process would ensure that Trenton is fairly compensated for its assets, would protect and invest in the TWW workforce, and would go further to ensure that TWW consistently delivers reliably safe, clean drinking water at affordable rates.
In his letter, Commissioner LaTourette detailed several “grave conditions” at the facility:
1. The roof of Trenton Water Works’ filtration plant is leaking throughout the plant.
2. The HVAC system is malfunctioning, promoting corrosion of equipment and an unsafe work environment.
3. The filtration plant intake is only operating at 50% capacity.
4. The electrical system at the treatment plan is in need of significant repairs.
5. The central pump station has no backup and is in need of full replacement. Without it, water cannot be supplied to customers.
6. Ongoing management failures.
TWW provides drinking water to more than 200,000 people living in Trenton, Hamilton, Ewing, Lawrence, and Hopewell Township. Currently more than 50% percent of TWW customers live outside the City of Trenton.
“Our main concern is that all customers served by TWW have clean and safe drinking water,” said Mayor Peters-Manning. “DEP has determined that TWW is on the brink of catastrophic failure, and the suburban towns deserve a seat at the table. The time for action is now, and we cannot continue with the status quo.”
For more information, please visit the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s website regarding potential impacts for consumers: https://dep.nj.gov/trento…/potential-impacts-for-consumers.
