Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo has introduced a trio of bills to improve the operations of public water systems following repeated operational and infrastructure issues at Trenton Water Works.
According to a statement from DeAngelo, the bills were developed to address long-standing concerns regarding the delivery of service by TWW to thousands of customers in Mercer County. DeAngelo represents the 14th district, which includes parts of Mercer County.
Under the first measure (A-3352), specific guidelines would be put in place to notify municipal officials and the public in the event of an emergency, such as a boil water notice. Water utilities would be required to notify the mayor and municipal clerk of every town serviced within one-hour of the problem. The boil water advisory must also be posted on the water system’s website and social media accounts.
In January, TWW issued a boil water notice for customers, but it was unclear which customers were impacted by the notice. Some towns weren’t notified about the boil water advisory until 12 hours after it went into effect.
Under the newly proposed legislation, customers affected by the boil water advisory would be notified within 24 hours. Within 90 days of the bill’s passage, water systems would be required to contact customers to identify their preferred method of obtaining emergency notices — via telephone, email or text message.
“In the rare occurrence that a boil water advisory needs to be issued or there is evidence of contamination, the public has a right to know immediately so that they can take whatever steps necessary to ensure that their health is not at risk,” DeAngelo said.
The second bill (A-3353) aims to address the transparency of public water utilities.
According to a statement from DeAngelo, the bill would require public water systems to develop or maintain a website that includes the following:
a description of the service territorythe current and previous fiscal year budgetthe annual audit for the current and previous fiscal yearcontact information for individuals who provide day-to-day supervision or management of the systemrelevant rules, regulations and policy statementsa list of attorneys, advisors, consultants and other entities who receive compensation over $17,500 by the system
In the aftermath of boil-water advisory, many readers wanted to know the specific region that receives water from TWW. Editor Rob Anthes tried to find a map of their service area. He couldn’t find a readable map, and he wasn’t the only one. No one at TWW or the NJ Department of Environmental Protection was able to find one either.
The final bill, A-3354, address staffing concerns at TWW. It would allow a professional licensed engineer with a college degree or at least four years of curriculum in engineering to be admitted to take any examination for a water supply or water treatment systems operator license.
These bills — which were introduced on Feb. 12 — are the second step toward addressing the operational issues at TWW. Last week, The City of Trenton reached an agreement with state officials. A 16-page Administrative Consent Order detailed a series of steps to address infrastructure, staffing, operational and public notification needs at the water utility.
