April 22,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, the Bergen Record is reporting that the class action lawsuit trial involving Glen Rock, Wyckoff and Midland Park and the Ridgewood Water utility is delayed through at least mid-June.
Originally scheduled to begin April 5,the dispute was assigned a go ahead trial date following the failure of two mediation attempts earlier this year, held in Ridgewood and presided over by retired Superior Court judge Peter E. Doyne.
As previously reported on this blog the class action by municipal water customers Glen Rock, Midland Park and Wyckoff alleges some $3.3 million in past overcharges, and that the Village of Ridgewood improperly comingled water company revenues to other areas of the Ridgewood municipal budget.
Other issues also effect Ridgewood water including onerous EPA regulation, massive up keep in infrastructure , summer water restrictions and water quality issues .
Reader says Ridgewood Water is nothing but a black hole for money;
“Ridgewood water is nothing but a black hole for money. Resident have forgotten all the trouble we resident have had with this utility and that BS the Queen Bee gave us last night about the Ridgewood Water Dept head is just that BS . If you believe her you probably voted for the 3 Amigos and their BS. Ridgewood Water cannot keep up with the new EPA and future regulation. Do you enjoy being on water restriction while your neighboring towns that are not served by Ridgewood Water are not? Do you enjoy getting tickets for violating those restriction? . Prospective Council Candidates talk about shared services with other towns or the county to save money but what to retain control of a failing water system. Ridgewood Water has lost their creditability. Get ride of it or privatize it and that goes for the other black hole our very own Ridgewood Sewerage Plant. Oh wait I guess some residents want to retain control of our sewerage.”
The Flint water crisis is a drinking water contamination issue in Flint, Michigan, United States that started in April 2014. After Flint changed its water source from treated Detroit Water and Sewerage Department water (which was sourced from Lake Huron as well as the Detroit River) to the Flint River (to which officials had failed to apply corrosion inhibitors), its drinking water had a series of problems that culminated with lead contamination, creating a serious public health danger. From Wikipedia.
My point is that if we lose control of Ridgewood water we are in danger of getting worse water. Yes, there are problems, that is why we must be ready to remedy them, even if it means, like Fairlawn, to put water filters on wells, regardless of cost over a period to years. To pay higher water rates etc.
Yes, we must and did finally put a warning on cigarettes, ban trans fats, warn about the hazards of hormones and antibiotics in food and putting too many herbicides and pesticides and lawn, and dangers of polluted air from vehicles and so on. Many states in the U.S. have polluted water, in many cities in Jersey, the people have to use bottled water, and even bottled water has a bad rap now because it could be more polluted than local tap. Let’s admit there is a water crises and we must be prepared to solve it , no matter what the financial cost, rather than turn our heads and look away and try to sell it away.
So, I am voting for Hache for council. He spoke honestly and eloquently about the need in investing in our water.
Clean water is now an endangered species.
Sell it, sell it.
Not sure what the solution is regarding the water but the fact is IT SUCKS in every aspect. It is a priority and we should invest into it. It is vital to current and future generations of Ridgewood.
they will not sell it, they make big money. trust me.
The bottom line is that Ridgewood is so behind in investing in its infrastructure that we are at a point of no return. Look around you. Telephone poles? What town where the average home price is near 1 million dollars still has telephone poles? Look at our roads. Horrible condition. Downtown is a complete shit show full of outdated, unkempt buildings. Yeah, historic alright. Actually prehistoric.