FEMA Gives $20M To Monmouth County Sewage Plant For Line Repairs

MONMOUTH BEACH, NJ — The Two Rivers Water Reclamation Authority will receive $20 million from FEMA to make critical upgrades to its sewer lines, and to build a new main pump station.

The $20 million will be used to replace more than 3,000 feet of sewer line that had become damaged, and to replace and relocate a critical main pump station, according to TRWRA Executive Director Mike Gianforte.

The project is meant to prevent against a possible sewage spill into Monmouth County rivers and bays should another Sandy-like storm happen. In Sandy, 6.7 billion gallons of partially treated sewage water dumped into Newark Bay after sewer lines flooded.

The funding comes from FEMA's COVID-19 Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.

The plant is known for short as TRWRA and it is the sewage treatment plant for 12 towns in Monmouth County: Fair Haven, Little Silver, Monmouth Beach, Oceanport, Shrewsbury, West Long Branch, Eatontown, Red Bank, Rumson, Sea Bright, Shrewsbury Township and Tinton Falls, plus the area's two military bases. (Middletown has its own sewage treatment facility, TOMSA, which has been riddled with problems lately: A worker died in a manhole there last spring, and just in May the plant was fined $168,000 from the state for serious safety violations.)

In total, TRWRA services the wastewater needs of 90,000 people and its facilities include 200 miles of sewer lines, 18 pump stations and nine meter chambers. The sewage treatment facility is located on Highland Avenue in Monmouth Beach.

The news was announced Monday in a splashy press conference attended by Gov. Phil Murphy, Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Congressman Frank Pallone (D) and state Senator Vin Gopal (D), plus Gianforte.

“The reality is that because of climate change, we’re seeing what were once 100-year floods more and more frequently," said Sen. Menendez. "In some cases, we’ve seen them in consecutive years or even more often, and we simply can’t afford to be playing those odds with our critical infrastructure. This federal and state investment for the Two Rivers Water Reclamation Authority will play an essential role in ensuring that coastal communities in Monmouth County are protected for generations to come."

"This project will help protect tens of thousands of New Jerseyans from future storms and flooding," said Gov. Murphy.

Speaking of sewage: Middletown Sewage Treatment Plant Fined $168K After Employee's Death (May 3