Trenton Water Works and its latest boil water advisory....

A comment on the latest boil water advisory…..

                As many of you know, Trenton Water Works (TWW) issued a “Boil Water Advisory” (aka BWA) on Friday morning, September 27, 2019.  An official of TWW called our Health Officer (Carol Chamberlain) early that morning to inform her that its system had a malfunction which had resulted in a low chlorine level due to a mechanical failure which was significant enough to trigger the advisory.  The BWA was issued by TWW at 6:16 AM.  In response to the information provided by TWW, our Health Officer then informed Township officials including me, Police officials and our Director of Emergency Management (Jack Oakley).   I have also been informed that the Mayor of Trenton contacted our Mayor at this same time to further explain the situation. 

                Our emergency services personnel (EMTs and Firefighters) were dispatched to locations throughout the community that dealt with the public (i.e., day care centers, medical offices and dialysis centers , schools, senior citizen housing and businesses) to inform them of the situation.  Police sent out NIXLE notifications (a reverse 911 form of notification), and the Township posted the BWA on its website (with a link for more information), and sent out an advisory email and posted on our social media sites.  Later that day at approximately 4:45 pm, TWW informed us that the repairs were completed but the BWA remained until lab testing confirmed the water to be safe for consumption. without boiling.   The following day TWW informed the Township that the BWA was lifted, issued its formal statement, and we responded by putting the information out on our various modes of communication.   If anyone reading this has not signed up for our NIXLE notification system, please do.  Here is the link:  https://local.nixle.com/register/.  If you have never gone to our website, here is the link and I encourage you all to go frequently to obtain information about your Town:  www.lawrencetwp.com. 

                While the BWA was in effect, many residents took to social media to voice their complaints, concerns and frustrations with TWW.  Some also had strong complaints about how the Township responded to this advisory believing that we needed to do more.  From all of the commentary, it was clear many residents were uninformed about very basic information regarding the recent history of TWW and the work that has been done to address its deficiencies over the past 2 years.   I hope this article addresses this.

                To those of you who read my comments on FB responding to angry and frustrated residents, I apologize for the following (since you all have heard this many times before), but it is worth repeating now.  The TWW is a public water utility.  It is regulated by the State of New Jersey (under the Department of Environmental Protection).  The municipal governments of Lawrence Township, Hamilton Township, Ewing Township and Hopewell Township have absolutely no authority or control over this public utility.  We do not have access to its offices or access to its operational facility.  We do not manage this public utility in any way, and we all certainly have no authority to make statements on its behalf or issue advisories on its operations UNLESS that information is provided by TWW or the State of NJ DEP. 

                We are all residents of the State of New Jersey.  The state government has control and oversight over many services that are provided to us, public utilities such as TWW or PSE&G are among them.  As a result, the Township, having residents that are customers of these utilities absolutely has an obligation to notify the residents of anything that may affect the health and well-being of our residents….and we do take it seriously and act accordingly and within the limitations we are presented with. 

    

                Many of you may not be aware that TWW has a website where you could register for emergency advisories.  The link is here:  https://public.coderedweb.com/CNE/en-US/BF84F5061533?isMobile=false&fbclid=IwAR3DR3R4TMKth7e3O8N6upHiR6LejJ751IcJqoh4KHeQQtNU_P8grLiMEGY.  Some of you tried to do this during the BWA, and may have experienced some problems I assume from too many people trying to sign up at once…but sign up now!  It is easy. 

                In addition, many of you may not know that as a result of advocacy and pressure from the municipal officials from the four Towns and the growing concerns of the NJDEP of the poor performance of TWW over the past several years, in 2017 the NJDEP took action against it.  This resulted in a administrative court order that legally obligates TWW to take very certain and specific actions to improve its operations.  The NJDEP press February 7, 2018 press release is here:  https://nj.gov/dep/newsrel/2018/18_0012.htm.  The Administrative Consent Order (“ACO”) that requires TWW to take immediate and certain actions is very informative and if you take the time to read it, you will have a very good understanding that government officials are acting on your behalf.  The link is here https://www.nj.gov/dep/docs/tww-aco-20180205.pdf.  To those of you who want something to be done….it is.  What remains is possibly for the State to actually take over this utility, and this very well may happen.  But it will still present us all with a road to improvements that will take time. 

                Now, I understand it is very easy for someone to say, “Well, a lot of good this is doing.  We just had another boil water advisory.”  This is the part where I ask all of you to take a deep breath and be reasonable.  Every single one of us is a work in progress.  We strive to improve, and at times we take a step back and fail in some way.  Companies often find themselves seeking to recover from poor performances only to experience setbacks for one reason or another.   Public water utilities are no different in this respect.  Throughout our country there are many public water utilities (especially the older ones like TWW) that one time or another  (probably multiple times) have had to issue BWAs due to a human or mechanical failure.  It happens.  I know it happens to us more than it should and we are all sick of it!!!  But my purpose in writing this is not to defend TWW.  I am a customer, and I am as frustrated as you all are.  But from my vantage point, I know for a fact TWW is improving.  It is putting millions of dollars into improved infrastructure, and it is hiring qualified professionals to operate all aspects of the system.  But these improvements will take time, and there will be set backs.

                What we can do as your township officials is to take action to improve our communications to you (and we will), but you need to do your part and take affirmative action to stay connected with us.  Put our website as one of your “favorites” on your computer and visit it often.  A new web design is coming soon so the version you see today will be greatly improved.  Follow us on FB at https://www.facebook.com/TownshipofLawrence/  or Twitter https://twitter.com/LawTwpNJ and sign up for NIXLE and receive the important notices as you want to (on your cell phone or email).   And for those friends and family members who may not be connected, please do your part and get the word out to them.    

                The health officials of the municipalities will be meeting with TWW officials soon to discuss how communications can be improved so our residents get the information as quickly as possible.   And your elected officials from the municipalities will do their part and continue to advocate on your behalf and demand better from TWW.  

                I hope you find this helpful, and I hope you read the NJDEP press release and the Administrative Consent Order so you know what has been happening over the past year.