North Church Street Water Treatment Plant Reopens In Moorestown: Officials

MOORESTOWN, NJ — Saying it realized the advantages of re-starting the plant at the earliest opportunity, Moorestown announced that it has resumed operation of the North Church Street Water Treatment Plant last week.

The plant was reopened after two new filtration and treatment systems were installed as part of the township’s project to remove the unregulated contaminant Trichloropropane 123 (TCP 123), as well as Trichlorethylene (TCE) and Radium from the township’s drinking water.

Both water wells #7 and #9 were closed at the plant. Well #7 has been closed twice since the discovery of TCP 123 at the plant in 2014.

The township said it has notified the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) that it has restarted the plant, and NJDEP acknowledged the notification.

“The 1,200 gallons per minute of water that the Township will receive as a result of the improved treatment process will exceed current NJDEP water quality standards for drinking water, and will further reduce the Township’s need to purchase water at a higher cost from our regional supplier,” the township said in a statement.

As a result of the discovery of the contaminants discovered in the drinking water, the township was forced to purchase greater amounts of water than usual from New Jersey American Water. As a result, the township spent $2 million more than its $2.1 million contractual obligation between 2014 and 2015.

It reached an agreement with the water company last year to cap that spending at $1.5 million in 2016, but that was just a temporary solution.

“The process for obtaining, installing, testing, and permitting the new filtration and treatment systems has taken longer than anticipated, but in the interest of protecting the Township’s residents over such an important resource, we recently completed that process and realized the advantages of re-starting the plant at the earliest opportunity,” the township said. “As with any public water distribution system, there will be some operational adjustments with the addition of water from the plant, which may include some temporary disruptions that are the natural result of the initial change in flow through the system. Those disruptions will reduce in frequency as the system adjusts to the new flow.”

The systems are in place as a temporary solution while the township finds a permanent solution for its water issues.