Hamilton politicians blast Water Works at meeting
HAMILTON » Assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo blasted Trenton’s troubled water department at Tuesday’s Hamilton Council meeting, with other elected officials and members of the public also expressing no confidence in the utility’s maintenance and operations.
The capital city has engaged in “horrible communication” with the affected suburban communities on matters of public health, DeAngelo said at the council meeting. “We have to resolve this matter.”
DeAngelo, a Hamilton Democrat who represents the state’s 14th Legislative District, said municipaloperated utilities such as Trenton Water Works are subjected to less state oversight than privately owned, for-profit water companies.
Hamiltonians who live near the city border generally receive water from Trenton Water Works, while township residents who live in the Hamilton Square, Mercerville and Yardville neighborhoods generally receive their water from the private company Aqua New Jersey.
The five-member Hamilton Council passed two resolutions Tuesday night voicing support for new statewide legislation that would subject government-run water suppliers like Trenton Water Works to greater regulations intended to better protect public health.
One of those measures is New Jersey Senate Bill No. 732 and companion Assembly Bill No. 2420, which would require public water systems like TWW to reimburse residential customers for certain water testing costs. If a water utility has to test its H2O due to contamination or drinking-safety concerns, then those bills, if enacted into law, would prohibit the utility from passing those costs onto the customers.
The other measure Hamilton Council supports is State Senate Bill No. 733 and companion Assembly Bill No. 2421, which would require public water systems like TWW to immediately notify municipalities and school districts whenever the water system gets cited for water quality violations.
Those companion bills have been introduced in the New Jersey Legislature by Sen. Linda Greenstein and Assemblyman Dan Benson as the primary sponsors. Like DeAngelo, Greenstein and Benson are Democrats who represent Hamilton Township and surrounding municipalities as lawmakers of the state’s 14th Legislative District. Greenstein’s proposed legislation “will help protect the health, safety, and general welfare of the residents of Hamilton Township,” Hamilton Council said in its resolutions of support.
All five Hamilton Council members voted to pass the resolutions in support of Greenstein’s and Benson’s legislation Tuesday night. But Republican Councilwoman Ileana Schirmer, who ran unsuccessfully against Greenstein in the 2017 State Senate election, said the senator’s proposed legislation represented a “Band-Aid” solution to a problem that requires comprehensive corrective action.
“What we are trying to do is encourage the state legislators to act,” Democratic Hamilton Council Vice President Jeff Martin said.
In terms of the resolution in support of N.J. Senate Bill No. 733, Schirmer said that bill basically “tells Trenton Water Works to do their job, which is really sad we have to take that measure.”
Schirmer thanked DeAngelo for coming to the Hamilton Council meeting and suggested he has the right approach to bolstering operations at TWW.
“I appreciate the fact that you are not looking to find a way to put a Band-Aid on it,” Schirmer said of DeAngelo and his legislative leadership in addressing TWW’s problems. She said DeAngelo is looking at “what needs to be changed and fixed” at the city’s water department.
Schirmer said Trenton Water Works is currently “allowed to get away with” being a repeat violator of state regulations, adding, “They are allowed to make excuses” and that she is “livid as a taxpayer, having to worry about what my kids are drinking.”
Jeff Plunkett, Hamilton’s health officer and Health Department director, also said Greenstein’s proposed legislation is a “Band-Aid,” adding the state Department of Environmental Protection “has to be held accountable to the point of enforcing” the violations it has cited TWW for.
Former Hamilton councilman Vinnie Capodanno, a Democrat, called for TWW to be subjected to a “forensic audit of their money.”
“What are they doing with their money?” Capodanno said. “That’s something the federal government and the state I feel they need to look into.” occurred during the tenure of current city Mayor Eric Jackson. Since Jackson assumed office in July 2014, the city has been hit with 20 water violations from DEP, with 12 of them coming in 2017 — its worst year ever on record. Jackson’s administration has recently taken steps to fix the operational and staffing qualms at the beleaguered Trenton Water Works.
The city entered into an emergency $1.3 million contract with civil engineering firm Wade Trim. The company will help TWW address issues with “operation, distribution, maintenance and identification” and help implement “some operational enhancements” at the water department, Trenton Public Works Director Merkle Cherry previously said.
Following Trenton’s latest communications snafu during a Jan. 15 water crisis, State Sen. Shirley Turner (D-Mercer/Hunterdon) introduced legislation that would expose TWW to potential civil penalties if it fails to issue a prompt public notice on H2O-safety concerns going forward.
If enacted into law, Turner’s N.J. Senate Bill No. 1241 would require utilities like TWW to notify customers of boil water advisories within 24 hours, and Turner’s more stringent State Senate Bill No. 1242 would require boil water notices be provided to the mayors and municipal clerks of all impacted communities within one hour.
TWW provides water sourced from the Delaware River to residents in the capital city and suburban communities in Ewing, Lawrence, Hamilton and Hopewell townships.