Residents Miffed At Water Company's Noise

In the over 35 years that Elaine Farrell has lived at the corner of Denham and Donna she never had one complaint about her neighbor, the NJ American Water Company.

Until July 29, 2009.

Farrell's backyard abuts Water Company property, which houses  a pumping station serving Springfield, Millburn and Short Hills. Last year, a thirty-year-old backup generator was replaced with a more powerful new model that used a different cooling system.

According to the Water Company officials who appeared at Wednesday's Planning Board meeting, this backup generator is designed to kick in when there is at least a five-minute loss of power.

Last July 29, areas of Springfield lost power during a rainstorm and the generator did what it was supposed to do, it turned on. Neighborhood residents said that the noise level exceeded any acceptable limits.

And according to Farrell, along with the noise, a vibration strong enough to shake china and furniture rattled through the home. Calls to the Water Company were to no avail since the only reachable employees were maintenance personnel who were ignorant of the situation and couldn't do anything.

Farrell and other neighbors called the Springfield Police and then Mayor (now Deputy Mayor) Bart Fraenkel. Fraenkel testified that the noise was so loud that when he arrived on the scene it was impossible to hold a normal conversation.

The noise continued for eighteen hours. While the decibel level wasn't officially measured at the time, guesses placed it as high as 75 decibels, which would put it over the standard acceptable level of 65 decibels during daytime hours and 50 decibels at night.

NJ American Water officials and project engineers appeared at Springfield's Feb. 3 Planning Board meeting to explain what was being considered as a solution to the noise problem. What they came up with was a sound-buffer fence with appropriate landscaping.  According to the Water Company expert that would provide adequate amelioration. The neighbors aren't so sure.

Residents were skeptical that the proposed sound-buffer fence alone would be enough to lower the noise level and also wondered why the noise wasn't directed in the direction of the pool rather than toward a residential neighborhood.  Other Denham/Donna neighborhood residents who testified at the meeting included Rae Eskin, Chris Alfano and Eileen Rogers. They all expressed concern about noise and vibration levels affecting quality of life and property values.

The Water Company's application was  carried over to the March 3 meeting. In the interim, Springfield officials will be meeting with them to develop a mutually acceptable solution to the noise and vibration problem.