By VASHTI HARRIS
Staff Writer
SPOTSWOOD — The Middlesex County Utilities Authority (MCUA) notified Spotswood officials about an unusual purplish-red substance that was found in borough sewers during November.
Spotswood Business Administrator Dawn McDonald revealed during the Borough Council meeting on Dec. 12 that the believed source of the bizarre substance was most likely from a commercial entity.
“The MCUA has been assisting the borough with their investigation to determine the source of wastewater within Spotswood’s system with characteristics not typical of residential sewage. In our efforts to assist the borough, the MCUA conducted a site inspection of a cardboard box manufacturing plant located in Spotswood,” according to a statement from CN Communications on behalf of the MCUA. “The MCUA learned that the box plant uses various water-based inks in their operation, which is the likely source of the coloration in the wastewater.”
The statement further added that the various inks used for box labeling are water-based and do not pose an adverse impact to the MCUA wastewater treatment process. The MCUA also confirmed that there was not a significant amount of the substance in the sewers.
The Spotswood Water & Sewer Department, along with the MCUA, have been running tests on the substance to find its source and the reason for its unusual color. McDonald concurred that the substance is nontoxic and not harmful.
The Borough of Spotswood owns and operates its own sanitary sewer system. Spotswood sends approximately 650,000 gallons of wastewater to the MCUA meter chamber each day. The MCUA treats a total of more than 100 million gallons of wastewater each day, according to the statement.
The borough discharges its sanitary sewage to an MCUA meter chamber, which is then conveyed to the MCUA Wastewater Plant for treatment. The MCUA noticed an occasional purple color in the wastewater it received from the borough last month and notified borough representatives of the observations, according to the statement from CN Communications.
“The MCUA staff noticed the occasional colors in the wastewater during their routine monitoring of the MCUA’s meter chamber, which is the discharge point for Spotswood’s sewage into the MCUA system,” the statement said. “The MCUA notified Spotswood of the coloration as a courtesy, so that the borough is aware of the type of wastewater it sends to the MCUA.”
McDonald said this could impact the estimated wastewater collection costs for 2017.
For information about the Middlesex County Utilities Authority, visit www.mcua.com. For more information about Spotswood’s Water & Sewer Department, visit www.spotswoodboro.com/waterandsewer.html.
Contact Vashti Harris at [email protected].