Water Debate Continues At Moorestown Council Candidates Forum

MOORESTOWN, NJ — Tuesday night's debate between Moorestown Council candidates at William Allen Middle School covered a range of topics, including water quality.

Incumbent Deputy Mayor Manny Delgado and Republican running mate Jamie Boren debated Democratic candidates Brian Donnelly and Nicole Gillespie in the forum moderated by 6 ABC Action News anchor and Moorestown resident Rick Williams.

The forum was presented by MooreUnity and questions were crafted by a committee and taken from members of the audience. One of the questions was whether the township is on the right track when it comes to water safety.

The question came about a week after the township released information about the improvements at the Kings Highway Water Treatment Plant. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) recently notified the township that it was now able to provide stalled water connections to residents and businesses.

Last year, the North Church Street Water Plant was reopened with new filters in place to remove contaminants that were discovered in that well. Moorestown is the first New Jersey community to treat for the contaminate TCP-123. During the debate, Boren said Erin Brockovich praised Moorestown last year for moving faster than average to deal with the contaminant, which was previously unregulated.

Construction is expected on the permanent treatment for both North Church Street and the Hartford Road water plants in the fall, according to officials. Boren also said during the debate that it was important to continue to replace water mains, for which the township has already invested $7.4 million. The township has spent over $50 million on new water upgrades so far.

“I don’t think we started on the right track to begin with,” Donnelly said. “First, the council had to be dragged kicking and screaming to acknowledge it was a problem, and I haven’t seen any sense or urgency from the council on this,” Donnelly said.

TCP 123 was first identified in the township’s drinking water in 2013, but didn’t become a public issue until late in 2014. A group of citizens came together to form the Moorestown Water Group, a watchdog group that pushed the township on the issue. In 2016, NJDEP fined Moorestown $3,000 for water violations and ordered the township to correct their violations. Read more here: Moorestown Council Accepts NJDEP Consent Order; Calls It ‘Path Forward’

Delgado pointed out that most of their plants were built in the 1950s and the 1970s, and in three years, the township has taken care of all the plants and is now working on infrastructure. He said the next step is to renegotiate the township’s contract with New Jersey American Water, which runs through the end of next year.

Gillespie noted that resident Michael Babcock, a member of the water group, has been after the township to try to find those responsible for the contamination in the first place. He asked council to put out an RFQ last year, but no RFQ has gone out yet, she pointed out.

Councilman Mike Locatell previously said the township wants to have a final number it is asking for before pursuing those responsible. That number would be the final cost when all work is finished, but Babcock has said you can leave the number open ended and still pursue those responsible. Read more here: Debate Continues Over Investigation Of Water Contaminants

Several other issues, including affordable housing, the health of the township's finances and transparency were also discussed. Patch will post more on these aspects of the debate in the coming days. Residents can also learn more about the candidates at the following links:

Jamie Boren
Brian Donnelly
Manny Delgado
Nicole Gillespie

See related: Moorestown Council Candidates Debate Affordable Housing At Forum

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