Former council advisor Robin Vaughn criticizes the Trenton Water Plan as a “hostile ingestion” – – NJTODAY.NET

The former wife of Trenton Municipal Council Robin Vaughn publicly criticizes the potential sale or transfer of supervision over water affairs in Trenton (TWW), calling it a “hostile absorption” of a 165-year-old public utility company.

TWW, one of the largest public urban water systems in the United States, serves approximately 225,000 residents in Trenton and four surrounding municipalities in Mercer County.

State and local employees plan to steal the utility program from Trenton residents and give partial property to four more neighboring communities.

In an email distributed to the voters and shared with the local media, VON expressed a strong opposition to the New Jersey Senate Bill S3181, which proposes the establishment of the Mercer Regional Water Services Commission to monitor the Operations of TWW.

Vaughn has accused Mercer County officers and Trenton Mayor Reed Gusiora in bad management and claims that the proposed committee will undermine Trenton’s management in usefulness.

“Trentonians, let’s immediately stop this madness,” Vaughn writes. “As Trenton taxpayers, we can challenge this lawlessness and aggression against our municipality.”

TWW, established in 1859, draws water from the Delaware River and supplies an average of 27 million gallons of drinking water daily up to 63,000 customers.

The system includes a 60-million water filtration plant, 100 million gallon tank and 683 miles of transmission lines.

Despite its historical importance and the critical role in the region, Tww has faced significant operating and regulatory challenges in recent years, especially since Gusciora became mayor in 2018.

In October 2022, the Ministry of Environmental Protection in New Jersey (NJDEP) issued a unilateral administrative order (UAO) to TWW in order not to work properly and maintain the system.

The order cites concerns about the uncovered tanks, the potential risks Legionella and the lead and the delay of capital improvements.

A third -party supervision contractor has been appointed to evaluate the system and cope with the immediate needs to prevent catastrophic failures.

The assessment of forensic data conducted by NJDEP and an independent consultant revealed that the bigger part of the TV water quality samples collected between November 2022 and 2023 are invalid, leading to federal and state violations Provisions.

TWW was obliged to notify the public of these violations until December 6, 2024 and to confront additional actions of application, including a violation notice and an administrative order with civil penalties.

VON emphasizes the dual role of Trenton residents as taxpayers and payers, arguing that they have a bigger share in Tww than the surrounding municipalities who buy water from the utility company.

“Our property and share in our water department are not just like a” taxis of a taxi, “she writes. “The other four cities do not pay taxes to help financing all our urban departments, including the Water Affairs in Trenton.”

The proposed Mercer Regional Water Services Committee has sparked a debate on local control over regional critical infrastructure supervision.

Proponents of the scheme claim that a regional approach can improve management and cope with systemic problems, while opponents like VON consider this as an attack on Trenton’s autonomy.

VON called the residents to contact their elected representatives, including members of the US Congress, state legislators, district commissioners and members of the Municipal Council to oppose the establishment of the Commission and any related legislation.

As the debate continues, the future of TWW remains uncertain, with stakeholders weighing the need for improved supervision of concerns about local control and long -term resistance to utility.

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