Moorestown Seeking Help Recovering Funds For Water Treatment

MOORESTOWN, NJ — Moorestown is seeking outside help for cost recovery services related to water treatment improvements. On Monday night, Moorestown Council reviewed a Request for Quotation (RFQ) that will go out to attorneys asking for help with recovery efforts for costs relating to treatment at its local water plants after multiple contaminants were found in the township’s water supply beginning in 2014.

Attorneys will have a minimum of 30 days from the time the RFQ goes out to respond. The township will select the lowest responsible bidder from among the respondents, and a committee will evaluate the selection. Members of the committee will be determined at a later date, and will be up for council discussion, according to Township Manager Tom Merchel.

The attorney will help council recoup some of the money the township has spent on water treatment systems at the North Church Street Water Treatment Plant, where Trichloropropane 123 (TCP 123) and Trichloroethylene (TCE) were first detected in two wells in 2013.

While the RFQ doesn’t specifically name TCE, it references all contaminants discovered in the 2013 Water Quality Report, and officials said the language can be tightened up when the township meets with the attorneys. The township will work in concert with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) on these efforts.

Patch file photo