Belleville Residents Drink ‘Same Exact Water’ As Newark: Mayor

BELLEVILLE, NJ — People in Belleville drink the same exact water as their neighbors in Newark. And that’s one reason why the township shouldn’t be overlooked when it comes to the Brick City’s lead contamination crisis, Mayor Michael Melham says.

On Monday – as county officials announced a $120 million funding boost for Newark – Melham issued a press statement of his own: “What about Belleville?”

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 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.”

Melham said he was “exasperated” that mayors in cities nearby Newark weren’t included on several early conference calls about the water challenges, even though the Township of Belleville is a customer of Newark and directly purchases its water from the city.

In addition, Melham has been reaching out to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which recently suggested that thousands of water filters Newark handed out to help combat the contamination may not be working.

• See related article: Feds Say Use Bottled Water In Newark, Filters Unreliable

“While communication has certainly improved, the calls and meetings I am invited to always seem to focus on the City of Newark and its residents,” Melham said. “What about Belleville?”

• See related article: Bloomfield, Belleville, Nutley React To Newark Water Woes

Melham said that some of the spotlight has finally started to make its way towards Belleville. 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

LEAD IN THE WATER: WHAT’S THE CAUSE?

In February, the Newark City Council gave an official go-ahead to begin phase one of an eight-year, $75 million effort to replace thousands of privately owned residential lead service lines, one of the suspected sources of the contamination.

It’s a costly endeavor, which has spurred Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and others to ask for federal assistance.

• See related article: Newark's $75M Solution For Water Woes Moves Forward

The situation is similar in Belleville, where replacing the lead service pipes could cost up to $24 million, Melham said.

“Let’s be clear: lead line replacement is the only permanent solution,” Melham asserted. “It’s a costly endeavor and it’s something that will be considered as a long-term solution. This certainly isn’t the county’s problem, but as [County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo] says, we are all one big family. The county is quickly coming forward with a solution and a funding mechanism.”

Belleville officials previously said that "most if not all" of the lead contamination that has been detected by state agencies in Newark is emanating from older residential service line pipes.

Earlier this month, Belleville township engineer and water operator Tom Herits said there are no restrictions on Belleville 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.

Herits said Belleville is required to test twice a year for lead and copper levels. During the most recent testing, the "overwhelming majority" of samples came back below the acceptable state- imposed levels.

• See related article: Belleville Monitors Its Own Water As Newark Deals With Lead Woes
• See related article: Newark's New Way Of Fighting Lead Will Benefit Nearby Essex Towns

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