Trenton officials expected to take final action on ordinance hiking the Trenton Water Works water rate at meeting, set for today (Sept. 4)
By Lea Kahn, The Packet Group
A handful of residents who want to block the sale of the Trenton Water Works lines in Ewing, Hamilton, Hopewell and Lawrence townships to the New Jersey American Water Co. have formed a citizens action group.
The Friends of Local Control of Our Water — FLOW — held its second organizational meeting at the Ewing Senior and Community Center on Lower Ferry Road in Ewing Township on Aug. 26. The initial meeting was held in Hopewell Township earlier this month.
The residents are concerned about the proposed 35.9-percent rate hike that would likely follow the sale of the outside water utility system (OWUS) lines to New Jersey American Water Co. But the state Board of Public Utilities must approve the sale.
Morton Rosenthal, who is one of the FLOW organizers, told the audience of about two dozen people that the real rate increase over time is likely to be about 114 percent. NJAWC would likely seek periodic rate increases, he said.
”The townships will have to think smart and forget about the (municipal) boundaries (to fight the proposed sale),” said Mr. Rosenthal, who lives in Hopewell Township. “We’ll have to think a little bit broader. These people are not going to walk away from a fight.”
Ewing Township resident Marian Jordan agreed that NJAWC’s rates are expensive. She said the water bill at the family’s summer home in Bradley Beach last month was about $70. The water bill for their Ewing Township home was about $70 for three months, she said.
Ewing Mayor Jack Ball told the group that representatives of the four townships have been meeting periodically to discuss strategies to deal with the proposed sale. He supported Mr. Rosenthal’s position that the townships will have to “think smart.”
Mayor Ball also said the townships must “keep an eye” on Trenton City Council’s proposed 40-percent water rate increase. The City Council is expected to take final action on an ordinance hiking the Trenton Water Works water rate at its meeting, set for today (Sept. 4).
In the past four years, Ewing has paid over $600,000 a year for fire hydrant service, he said. A 40-percent rate increase — which is “ludicrous, ridiculous and not acceptable” — means the township’s bill would climb by $240,000 per year, he said.
When the possibility of creating a Mercer County Water Authority was suggested, Mercer County Board of Chosen Freeholders President Lucy Walter said it would not be a good idea. Ms. Walter told the group that the other townships might object.
Meanwhile, state Sen. Shirley Turner (D-Lawrence) has come out in opposition to the rate increase, Mr. Rosenthal said. In a letter to FLOW, Sen. Turner wrote that she was “appalled” that the sale is even being considered when residents are trying to keep up with day-to-day living expenses.

