By james art 
Today, Commissioner Sean M. Laturet of the Ministry of Environment in New Jersey (DEP) has released a report – technical, managerial and financial evaluation of the Trenton Water Affairs (Tww) – this emphasizes specific disadvantages in Tw and recommends the creation of a new enterprise For utility services for the operation of the water system. This entity must be separate and independent of the Trenton municipal government; Therefore, able to access special funding, pre -capital work, be operatively effective, attract additional talents and remain free from political intervention. We mayors of cities served by Tww
As one of the largest water -owned water systems in the United States, Tww has once been very respected in the aquatic industry. It has grown significantly over the years to serve five municipalities: Trenton, parts of the city of Hamilton, Ewing, Lawrence and Hopwell. The system also regularly supplies Aqua New Jersey water program through interconnectedness. While the water filtration plant is more than 50 years old, it can produce up to 60 million gallons of drinking water daily, far exceeding the current demand of 33 million gallons.
It is important to note that the bigger part of the customers of TWW – 55% – reside outside Trenton, but the other four municipalities do not have an official role in the management or power of TWW on its operations. This interruption between the needs of the service area and the management of the TWW emphasizes the need for a new model of management.
In order to lead further improvements, DEP purchases independent estimates from third parties to objectively evaluate the condition of TWW and to study the restructuring options. These estimates have confirmed that the status quo is not an effective solution and a new utility company can be successful if, regardless of the Trenton municipal government. They also emphasize that this new entity can meet and maintain compliance with safe drinking water standards and guarantee the long -term resistance to systemic assets if its management, management and operations are fully upgraded and professional.
The tension of the outdated infrastructure of the TWW has led to the need for very expensive improvements. It is important to note that water systems in New Jersey with large areas for servicing diversity such as Tww have capital projects costing millions of dollars. Tww is no exception, as highlighted by the proposed program for improving the capital $ 600 million since the beginning of 2000.
The mayors representing the service area of the Tww-jaff Martin of Hamilton, Bert Steinman of Yuing, Patricia Hendrick Farmer of the city of Lawrence, Courtney Peters-Maning from Hopwell and W. Reed Gusiora of Trenton to improve and improve to improve and make the necessary investments as part of this transformation into a new public useful enterprise. Our inhabitants do not deserve anything less.
Our key priorities for creating a specialized public utility organizations to achieve our goal include:
- A complete and transparent assessment of the new process of creating a public entity.
- Cost reporting, which will be needed to compensate for the city of Trenton for his asset.
- Assessment of the project impact on rates and fees.
- A public campaign to declare how the new structure will affect the paid percentages as the necessary capital work, including improvements from the water filtration plant, improvements to the distribution system and to create new positions with competitive salaries to attract and retain qualified professionals.
The cooperation between the mayors is already underway and will continue to accelerate over the next six months. Together, we strive to restore the faith and confidence of the public in this new entity.