By Matthew Sockol
Staff Writer
FREEHOLD – Municipal officials have approved a plan to create a new well at the Freehold Borough water treatment plant on Waterworks Road. An existing well that is no longer functioning will be replaced.
On Feb. 6, members of the Borough Council adopted an ordinance that will provide an appropriation of $1.35 million for the design and construction of a new well at the treatment plant. The ordinance authorizes the issuance of $1.3 million in bonds or notes to finance part of the appropriation.
The new water well will have a useful life expectancy of 25 years, according to the ordinance.
Business Administrator Joseph Bellina said a well at the treatment plant is no longer functioning and he said that situation makes it necessary for a new well to be established.
Councilman George Schnurr said, “We are trying to ensure our water supply moving forward.”
According to borough officials, the treatment plant has three functioning water wells.
The current status of the water treatment plant is a source of concern for municipal officials. As reported by engineers midway through 2016, the plant was constructed in 1949 and has not been upgraded since 1977.
Although the engineers informed council members that the plant is maintained and operational with no major service disruptions and that operators are meeting New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection finished water quality standards, they said the plant’s major equipment is approaching the end of its useful life service.
To address the issues at the plant, the engineers suggested two solutions: upgrade the existing water treatment plant’s equipment or construct a new plant nearby.
The engineers recommended the construction of a new plant because although that is a more expensive option, upgrading the existing plant would not address flooding concerns and some of the plant’s aging equipment could not be replaced.
Bellina supported the engineers’ recommendation to construct a new plant.
No formal action on that recommendation has been taken by the governing body.
In other business, council members confirmed the appointments of William Anderson to a one-year term as a member of the Municipal Alliance to Prevent Substance Abuse; Evan Ciok as a member of the Freehold Fire Department’s Junior Firefighter Program; and the resignation of Patrol Officer Michael Smith from the Freehold Borough Police Department.