the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, on Saturday we reported that Ridgewood residents have once again received another notice that their drinking water system contains higher levels of a family of chemicals that have been linked to cancer and other health problems. Ridgewood Water exceeds state levels of a class of chemicals called PFAS and PFOAS.
Over the years the Ridgewood blog has been a harsh critic of Ridgewood Water and while the current management is a great improvement the water system still has a long way to go to meet first world standards .
“Ridgewood Water customers will be the benefactors of one of the largest singular and direct clean water funding items in support of the region’s most important water treatment initiative,” Mayor Knudsen said at the time.
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Mayor Susan Knudsen announced that the Village of Ridgewood has been approved for a direct grant in 2022 in the amount of $2,800,000 from the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) as a result of being one of Congressman Josh Gottheimer’s and Senator Bob Menendez’s Community Funding Projects.
The $2.8 million funds will be used as a direct revenue offset for 2022 planned capital expenses of $3.5 million for the drinking water treatment facilities construction project known as the Ravine Treatment Plant. Scheduled for completion in 2023, the Ravine Treatment Plant will provide a regional solution to treat Ridgewood Water’s drinking water for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) found in the local raw water drinking sources.
“Ridgewood Water customers will be the benefactors of one of the largest singular and direct clean water funding items in support of the region’s most important water treatment initiative,” Mayor Knudsen said.
Knudsen further explained that, “The Village of Ridgewood and all of the residents of New Jersey’s 5th Congressional District are fortunate to have Senator Menendez and Congressman Gottheimer in Congress with their extensive knowledge on clean drinking water issues and problem solving around financial matters fighting to bring home this Federal funding.”
The grant for the Ravine Treatment Plant capital project, to be funded by a State and Tribal Assistance Grant (STAG), was brought to the attention of Congressman Josh Gottheimer and Senator Menendez by Mayor Knudsen last year as a result of her ongoing efforts to seek funding for Ridgewood Water customers in support of drinking water projects that will reduce the cost burden created by PFAS contamination to rate payers throughout the Ridgewood Water territory (Glen Rock, Midland Park, Ridgewood, Wyckoff). The elected leaders continuously advanced this project to ensure that this funding was included in the original federal appropriations and then throughout the myriad of changes and revisions until it reached the President’s desk.
Knudsen added, “Without this federal assistance, this expensive treatment cost would have been placed solely on the Ridgewood Water consumers who draw from the Brunswick Aquifer. No family should need to singularly bear the financial brunt of this necessary infrastructure modernization as neither the utility nor the customers are responsible for placing this contaminant in the raw water source.”
This project will help ensure that Ridgewood Water meets NJ DEP and US EPA standards for PFAS contaminants by bringing the system to non-detection levels. PFAS contamination affects several municipalities in North Jersey, including those serviced by Ridgewood. The problem is pervasive, regional and singularly one of the most expensive
treatment projects taken on by a publicly owned utility of this size in recent history in New Jersey.
Knudsen acknowledged, “The Village of Ridgewood is grateful to have the services of Director Rich Calbi and the staff of Ridgewood Water for quickly applying to and complying with this grant process, for their expertise in this area and for all of their work to ensure that our drinking water meets or exceeds the standards set by our public health officials.”
President Joe Biden signed H.R. 2471 (“Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022”) into law on March 15, 2022, which included the STAG for “Ridgewood Water Drinking Water Treatment Facilities Construction.” Community Funding Project is a new initiative for Fiscal Year 2022 that will allow Members of Congress to request direct funding for projects that benefit the communities they represent.
Yeah just her, yea ok. Please stop. And yet we have a Director that’s worrying about where all the vehicles are, and they’re running too long. Why are we paying a water Director to worry about this nonsense. Who are they looking to screw now. Because it’s starting to look like harassment again. And It’s costing the village 60,000 or more to have this app. Please show us the savings. Thought so, it’s amazing how as a Director he has just kind of time, very interesting. And yet he works for the water department. He should be worried about his own vehicles in his department. Not the whole town, Is he following police department, fire department, vehicles to, we don’t think so. Exactly
That’s not his responsibility.
The village should have been in control of this. All water department employees work just for the utilities. the lawyer “s and judge told the village this. Stop playing games.
Thank you Susan! People don’t realize where we’d be without her.
Yes we totally agree regarding a Director of water. is watching multiple vehicles throughout the fleet, something extremely wrong here. We’re paying this individual to run the water department, just maybe, just maybe if he wasn’t watching Town vehicles all day long maybe we wouldn’t have the problems we have in the water department . That’s OK if he’s watching the vehicles in his department which is the water department/water utility. So what’s going on his ass water users throughout Wyckoff, Glenrock, Midlandpark are paying a Director to watch village and the only village vehicles. We find this extremely interesting now. Again this is illegal what is being done, which is using those funds from the other three towns to watch Village Ridgewood vehicles. We think this needs to be stopped immediately. That responsibility should be transferred to the village fleet department. Talking about open up a can of worms again don’t they learn. Can’t believe that the mayor the council and manager is allowing this to happen on a daily basis. This is going to go to the media and explode. And if this is a cool saving line item show all of us what the savings are. If there is no savings on this item then it should be discontinued. Because the price of each device in a vehicle the labor to install it, and then the monthly charge. And on top of that we are paying A top press employee to watch this device. Wow, wow talk about a waste of money. And during our investigation supposedly the Director of water is in charge of sanitation and recycling in the village what is going on. What does the water utility have anything to do with the sanitation and recycling. OK are we utilizing water department utility employees to cover sanitation and recycling when they are short on staffing. Or are we just using a Director from the water department to cover sanitation recycling. But then who is paying him to do so the water utility users. This is getting very confusing. All village utility employees should work just for the utility company. Does the village pay a Director from the parks department to run things at about the water Utility. Can we use the chief of police or fire department to run the DPW. Maybe we should so things will be in order. Everyone is open your eyes
If True , This Needs To
Stop immediately
Thumbs down, you must be in management. Typical,
Regarding the water department just remember old mayors and councilman from Whycoff and midlandpark war behind that big lawsuit. Look in the archives who they were you’ll be surprised, especially the ones from Midlandpark, they wanted Ridgewood to get sued. Big time. Right, you know, who. Amazing isn’t it. And now look. What hypocrites. I don’t know how they live with themselves. They probably don’t have a mirror in the bathroom.
Well that’s what we have now running a few village departments. Be nice on Sunday. And screw it the rest of week. Right on sucker. What hypocrites. We got your number. All the way boy , yummy. What a joke. Size 50?