Water Company Plans Short Hills Plant Upgrade

New Jersey American Water is planning to build a new state-of-the-art water treatment facility in Short Hills.

The water company will replace its 1920-era Canoe Brook Water Treatment Plant on John F. Kennedy Parkway with a new facility at that site, according to a company press release. A ground breaking is expected this fall and the plant is expected to be completed by March 2012.

The $72 million project will have the capacity to deliver 14 million gallons of water per day to customers in the New Jersey American Water's Short Hills service area, the release states.

"New Jersey American Water's first priority is to deliver high-quality water service to our customers," said John Bigelow, president of New Jersey American Water, in the press release. "Our new Canoe Brook Water Treatment Plant will enable us to continue providing that high level of quality, and operate more efficiently. And of course, this type of infrastructure investment has the additional economic benefits in terms of job creation."

CDM Constructors Inc. with offices in Edison and Hatch Matt MacDonald of Millburn have been chosen for the design-build of the new water treatment plant. The new energy-efficient facility will allow New Jersey American Water to upgrade its water treatment processes, meet pending state and federal environmental standards that become effective in 2012, add improved security measures and data collection, and protect the plant from occasional flooding, the release states.

The Canoe Brook Water Treatment Plant serves New Jersey American Water customers in portions of Essex, Morris, Passaic, Somerset and Union counties and sits on more than 500 acres of land where various species of wildlife nest, and includes two reservoirs.

Earlier this year New Jersey American Water released an eagle that had been rescued at the facility. The eagle had been rehabilitated from lead poisoning.