Caldwell Council Hears NJAW Pitch To Buy Its Water, Sewer Systems

CALDWELL, NJ — One of the largest water service providers in the state may be eyeing the Borough of Caldwell’s municipal water and sewer system for its next purchase.

During the Feb. 20 Caldwell Borough Council’s business meeting, a representative from New Jersey American Water (NJAW) pitched the idea of the company purchasing the municipal water and sewer system, The Progress reported.

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According to Nick DeVecchis, a business development manager at NJAW, the company would be interested in taking over the municipal system in its entirety, including underground pipe maintenance, water meter monitoring and customer billing.

“All that stuff would transfer over to us,” DeVecchis told the council, adding that it would become NJAW’s “burden.”

DeVecchis said that NJAW would keep the prices that the municipality set for water and think about hiring the borough’s current water employees, but that one option would be to “lock in rates” as a condition to the sale.

The sale would also have to gain local voters’ approval in a referendum in a general election, he added.

According to the company’s website, NJAW is the “largest water service provider in the state,” serving about 2.7 million people in 190 communities, or nearly one out of three people in New Jersey.

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