Water Issues, Public Information Highlight Moorestown Council Meeting

MOORESTOWN, NJ — Moorestown officials clarified their strategy for a long-term solution at two water treatment plants found to have contaminated water during Monday night’s council meeting. Carbon filtration units already in place at the North Church Street plant will be used for the permanent treatment of Trichloropropane 123 (TCP 123) and Trichloroethylene (TCE). They were previously installed at the plant for the temporary treatment that was used while township officials explored a more permanent solution.

The township will use a WRT process for the removal of radiological elements found in the water. To deal with dioxins that have been discovered, the township will use a treatment that combines ultraviolet irradiation and hydrogen peroxide, according to Township Utilities Engineer L. Russell Trice.

Upgrades will be performed at the Hartford Road Water Treatment Plant. The township had considered increasing the capacity at the Hartford Road Plant and closing the North Church Street Plant altogether, but Trice said there were too many unknowns involved with that plan to implement it.

North Church Street is where TCP 1,2,3 was first identified in Moorestown, as part of its 2013 Water Quality Report. After a group of residents brought the issue to the public’s attention in October of 2014, water quality has become a major topic of discussion in Moorestown.

After the implementation of temporary treatments and much discussion about maintaining high quality water and the costs associated with it, the township is now moving forward with a permanent solution.
Council unanimously approved a pair of proposed ordinances on second reading to fund preliminary engineer and design expenses for projects at both sites Monday night.

The North Church Street project will cost $1,500,000, with $1,425,000 to be borrowed in bonds or notes. The Hartford Road project will cost $1,500,000, with $997,500 to be borrowed in bonds or notes.

The approvals put funds in place for design and planning at this point. It doesn’t necessarily mean work will begin right away, although officials said they do want to move forward with the projects as quickly as possible.

The upgrades will also bring the treatment plants up to their maximum water pumping capacity, which is 2.88 million gallons per day. That is the most the township is permitted to pump.

The explanation from Trice came at the request of Councilwoman Lisa Petriello. Petriello and other members of council agree that the water issue has not been properly communicated to residents, but they disagreed on how to improve that communication.

A proposed resolution Monday night called for the township to use competitive contracting to procure a public relations and communications consultant to handle the distribution of information to the residents.

The firm would be used to not just put out better information concerning the water issue, but also to distribute a monthly newsletter and put out news about infrastructure, among other purposes. The focus would be on public safety.

“For water, we just needed to make a simple statement,” Petriello said, referring to the statement made by Trice. “And I think we can do a better job with the tools we have right now.”

Petriello referred to Nixle, the township website and Facebook page, and its access to local media outlets.

“Are we using them to the best of our ability,” she asked.

“Obviously, we’re not,” Councilwoman Victoria Napolitano said. “We need a communications strategy.”

A public relations firm could help develop the strategy, that the township could continue to use as time goes on, officials said.

Some residents said they were wary of the possibility that the firm could be used to spin information released to the public to favor a certain political party. Currently, Petriello is the lone Democrat on the five-person council. Residents who spoke out said they preferred using someone already employed by the township for the job.

Officials countered that point by saying anyone who works for the township would have to get the approval of council and the administration, whereas an independent firm wouldn’t need the township’s approval.

“Do you want us to hire someone and pay them $70,000 a year with benefits,” said Mayor Manny Delgado, who said other townships pay anywhere between $9,000 and $35,000 for an outside firm.

Ultimately, council approved the resolution with a 4-1 vote. Petriello's argument continued, but Delgado cut her off to move the vote forward. In his closing comments, he said it was clear Petriello didn't agree with the rest of council, but didn't see a need for the argument to continue.

Council also unanimously approved two change orders for water treatment projects. One is for $3,657 for the installation of a carbon filter and radium removal system at the North Church Street Plant. The other is for $40,478.15 for the project at the Kings Highway Water Treatment Plant.

Patch file photo