FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP – No changes have been recommended by the Freehold Township Planning Board regarding Freehold Borough’s plan to construct a new water treatment plant on Waterworks Road in Freehold Township.
Representatives of Freehold Borough appeared before the board in May to discuss the town’s plan for a new water treatment plant. Kerry Higgins, who is Freehold Borough’s municipal attorney, presented the application.
According to Freehold Borough officials, the application was a courtesy review that could not be denied by the Freehold Township Planning Board. Changes to the application could be recommended by board members, but none were.
The development of a new water treatment plant for the borough has been ongoing since 2015.
Freehold Borough’s existing water treatment plant on Waterworks Road in Freehold Township, just outside the borough’s border, was constructed in 1949 and most recently upgraded in 1977, according to borough officials, who have said the facility has reached the end of its useful service life.
According to Mott MacDonald, the borough’s engineering firm, the new plant will be constructed of reinforced concrete block with a brick exterior and a gable end roof.
The chemical storage areas will be provided with two-hour fire-rated concrete block walls and ceilings, with safety showers provided in each chemical room and floor drains adjacent to each emergency shower provided in the chemical building floors to promote self-drainage.
The floor drains and the building’s sanitary system will discharge to a below-grade holding tank that will be cleaned out on a regular basis, according to the engineering firm.
Ventilation will be provided in the form of motor-operated louvers and exhaust fans and electric unit heaters will be provided.
In March, the Borough Council in Freehold Borough awarded a $7.83 million contract to Coppola Services for the construction of the new water treatment plant.