Belleville Battles For Clean Water With Mega Billboard On Rt. 21

BELLEVILLE, NJ — For the near future, federal and state officials working on Newark’s lead water crisis only need to look up as they drive down Rt. 21 to see an urgent reminder: Belleville deserves clean water, too.

On Thursday, Belleville Mayor Michael Melham unveiled his latest effort to bring some of the spotlight to his constituents’ own worries about water contamination. His solution? A gargantuan advertisement on a busy, local highway.

During a press conference on Main Street in Belleville, Melham explained his reasoning behind the billboard, which is framed as a message from the mayor to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP).

It reads: “Before you spend $1 million on a public relations campaign for Newark water… How about providing filters for Belleville residents?”

The billboard then urges readers to sign an online petition at www.FiltersForBelleville.org.

Melham told NJ.com the billboard space was provided at no cost to the township by North Jersey Advertising. The campaign will continue indefinitely, he said.

According to Melham, the NJDEP is planning to spend $1 million on a campaign to teach Newark residents how to use free water filters, which the city has been handing out while it fixes the main culprit, lead-lined pipes in thousands of local homes.

• See related article: Newark Replacing Lead Pipes In Homes; 800 Done, 17000 To Go

Newark officials have said the problem is confined to the Pequannock service area, which also provides water to other neighboring towns, including Belleville.

Belleville officials have said there are no restrictions on local residents in terms of drinking the tap water, and there is no reason to believe there are elevated levels of lead in the water the town receives from the Pequannock Reservoir.

Likewise, a recent round of testing at the district's eight schools showed no indication of lead – or other contaminants – in the drinking supply, officials said.

• See related article: No Lead In Drinking Water At Belleville Schools

But Melham has been quick to point out that Belleville shares a similar water infrastructure to Newark’s. That includes the cost of modernization; replacing every lead service line in the town could cost up to $24 million, he previously said.

While Belleville has been dealing with water challenges since late 2018, recent conference calls, press conferences, meetings and news reports seem to only highlight the City of Newark and concerns from Newark residents, Melham previously said.

"I've been telling everyone that will listen: Belleville residents drink the same exact water, which travels through a virtually identical infrastructure," Melham insisted. "In the future, if you are going to mandate filters, bottled water and testing, Belleville must be included."

• See related article: Belleville Drinks 'Same Exact Water' As Newark, Mayor Says

Melham has conceded that some of the spotlight has finally started to make its way towards Belleville. As proof, he pointed to the county's recent announcement of a $120 million loan for Newark, which will get a key assist from the Essex County Improvement Authority (ECIA).

The same terms of the loan program have been extended to the municipalities of Bloomfield, Belleville and Nutley, all of which purchase water from Newark.

• See related article: County Helps Newark Nab $120M In Loans To Fight Contamination

But on Thursday, Melham kept the pressure on state and federal officials, saying that he and the township refuse to be quiet as things move forward.

“While NJDEP Commissioner Catherine McCabe told me that Belleville is ‘on their own,’ the state is about to spend $1 million to educate Newark residents through community outreach on how to use their water filters,” Melham said. “Meanwhile Belleville has nearly 40,000 residents who drink Pequannock-based Newark water through nearly 6,000 residential lead service lines.”

• See related article: Belleville Monitors Its Own Water As Newark Deals With Lead Woes

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