Rehabilitation going smoothly for boro’s water system

By vincent todaro
Staff Writer

Rehabilitation going smoothly
for boro’s water system
By vincent todaro
Staff Writer

SPOTSWOOD — The borough is another step closer to solving its water discoloration problem.

Mayor Barry Zagnit said the cleaning and relining of the water system in the northwest quadrant of town and the section east of Easton Avenue were both targeted by the borough this year and are nearly completed. The northwest quadrant was chosen because that area is where the bulk of the summer 2001 water discoloration occurred, he said.

The work is already showing positive results.

"It’s interesting to see that, as many problems as we had last year at this time, the number of complaints has dropped," Zagnit said.

He described the number of discoloration complaints coming in as "minuscule," adding that officials are especially pleased because it was feared that the work would stir the system and actually cause some temporary discoloration.

The town has experienced water discoloration problems for years, but things came to a head in August 2001 when dozens of residents complained of being unable to use the water they were getting from their faucets. They said the water was a darkish color and had a foul smell. While tests showed it was completely safe, the borough agreed it was not something people would want to drink or bath in.

The borough has reimbursed many residents for clothing and items ruined by the water.

So far this year, the Borough Council has bonded for $3.1 million in improvements to its water system hoping this will help the discoloration go away for good. In addition to cleaning and relining water pipes, the governing body plans to rehabilitate the borough’s two water plants and water tower.

"We still need to [send the] tank and water plants [out to bid]," Zagnit said. "Hopefully we won’t need any more money."

The mayor described the work scheduled for the plants as a "total rehabilitation," and said the council is meeting with engineers to discuss design work.

While the plans and specifications for the work are still in the design phase, it is not known exactly what work will be done this year.

"It’s a temperature-critical job," he said. "We can’t do some of it in very cold weather. We’re hoping to get some done in the fall, but we’re not sure if it’s possible."

Councilman Curtis Stollen said the work is moving along very quickly, though there have been some obstacles.

"They found a few pipes they inspected that didn’t need to be lined, and some that were worse than they thought," he said. The council had to issue some change orders to fix pipes that "were very bad."

There is another benefit to the work, he said — the borough will finally have a reliable map of its water system.

Stollen said the new work will mean the borough will have "full engineering information on where the [water] valves and intersections are."

"Sometimes we break a pipe and won’t even be able to turn the water off," he said, noting that some of the valve boxes have been paved over through the years.

"We go to find them now and they’re nonexistent."

The borough will have a more complete and accurate accounting of the pipe locations and sizes, he said.