Ridgewood NJ, The day of reckoning maybe at hand for Ridgewood Water. The class action lawsuit filed against Ridgewood Water by three of the municipalities Glen Rock, Wyckoff, and Midland Park it serves will go to trial April 5 in Bergen County Superior Court.
Ridgewood Water, a public utility owned by the Village of Ridgewood, provides water to Ridgewood, Wyckoff, Glen Rock, and Midland Park. The law suit, filed on behalf of ratepayers in 2011, seeks the complete repeal of the utility’s 37 percent rate increase since 2010. Ridgewood representatives claim the increase was necessary for the utility to stay solvent. The lawsuit claims that the utility artificially inflated its costs by commingling Village cost with that of Ridgewood water.
Ridgewood elected officials skipped out a meeting with retired Judge Peter E. Doyne on January 8th that was set up to try and settle the lawsuit. So there was nothing left for the parties to do but press forward with the lawsuit.
Ridgewood NJ, Last night’s meeting has truly changed the conversation or at least it should. Roberta is holding on to a 100,000 dollar check from the RBSA that has” Strings Attached” re: not to be used unless a 90 foot baseball diamond is to be built. My mini financial transactions with the village advised me to deposit all checks and cash within 48 hours of receipt. But even more disturbing is that we also heard last night that there is an additional $100,000 in Open Space accounts available for approved projects. How is it that when Isabella Altano came before the council with 45,000 dollars for the purpose of a matching grant to stabilize the Schedler/ Zabriskie House, she was told that there wasn’t a single penny available for grant purposes and that no staff could be used to help her with other grant opportunities. Obviously, this wasn’t true and the only thing that one can surmise is that the council majority along with Roberta had no intention of doing anything to help Friends of Schedler in their quest to save the house and develop the property in a fitting manor.
But this wasn’t the worst revelation that occurred last night. Ridgewood Water is in trouble. Sludge pipes disintegrating releasing toxic sludge into the streets that was diverted into the streams and Kings Pond! And the on going problem of toxic contaminants seeping into the ground water at the Town Garage and municipally owned sites for many years! Now it is reported in The Record that Ridgewood is one of 5 towns in the Bergen/ Passaic area with PFOA toxins in the water at high levels. Why isn’t this a top priority at the municipal level? We should be investigating filters for the wells and immediately remediate the situation at the Town Garage and abutting municipal sites. Use eminent domain to gain control of the site we don’t own, fix the huge problem there and then develop it in a manner that is best suited for Ridgewood. I hope I hear back because at this moment in time I believe it is my civic duty to contact the DEP and ask them to revisit their recommendations for cleanup that have been ignored for the last 8 years. We are currently looking to bond approx. 11 million dollars for a garage and while this is important it is not nearly as important as our water.
Ridgewood Nj, last nights meeting seem to resemble more of a trip to the land of make believe than serious planning for Ridgewood’s Future . Readers claim it was a complete farce. Once again. They did not allow any public members to question the experts behind the studies. The experts described the developments in butterflies and rainbows terms and could only see positive impacts. Farce.
One expert boldly stated , NO impact from high density housing. Yep. He really said that.
One of the highlights of the evening for Gwenn Hauck was when she referred to resident Dana Glazer’s GoPro harness as resembling a ‘terrorist.’ That was fun.
I am writing to inform you of a Municipal Information Forum that we will be hosting for Ridgewood residents regarding Ridgewood Water.
The intent of this forum is to educate the public on how water is delivered to your faucet. We will deal with current issues in the news as well as discussing the quality of our water, sustaining water for the future, budget and capital investments and our short-term and long-term strategies.
Our decision to hold this forum emanated from several sources. One clearly is the amount of interest that residents have expressed in learning more about Ridgewood Water; this has definitely been heightened by stories in the news. Secondly, we have held two sessions such as these at both our 2016 budget reviews as well as at a Glen Rock Council meeting. These were two-way dialogues that were well received and I believe went a long way in a better mutual understanding of how the water we consume is delivered to our homes.
We are planning on conducting this forum on two separate dates. The first isThursday April 21st from 9-11 AM. The other is Monday April 25th from 7:30-9:30PM.
Please let us know if you intend on joining us by responding to this e-notice.
Look forward to seeing you.
Best,
Roberta Sonenfeld
Village Manager
201-670-5500, ext. 203
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Water detected lead in the water at homes and businesses having lead components in their plumbing. The utility is implementing a corrosion control treatment process that mitigates the problem. Ridgewood Water’s new hydraulic modelling software was used to test various combinations of treatment sites to provide effective protection for the entire system with the least amount of equipment and expense. The results indicated that all 30 points of entry into the system will require treatment.
Polyphosphate, a corrosion inhibitor is currently being added to the water at several locations. The permitting process is underway to extend this treatment to the remaining sites. Until the treatment plan receives final approval from NJDEP and is in full effect, residents can take one simple step to eliminate their exposure to lead in drinking water. Let the faucet run for several seconds before drawing water for cooking or drinking. If your service line is made of lead, run the water for a longer period to clear all of the water from the service line. Call 201-670-3372 to request information on your service line material.
Water that has not been in prolonged contact with lead-containing plumbing materials will be lead-free.
Other steps residents can take are to run water to flush out lead , use cold water for cooking and preparing baby formula , use alternative sources for drinking ,and if in doubt get your child tested.
BY RICHARD COWEN AND STEVE JANOSKI
STAFF WRITERS |
THE RECORD
Some parts of North Jersey are a lot like Flint, Mich.: old, industrial and poor, with many people living in houses built before World War II, drinking tap water that streams through pipes and fixtures made of lead.
Flint’s belated discovery of dangerously high levels of lead in tap water prompted a health emergency that has made national headlines. Lead in water has long been a problem in North Jersey and elsewhere, but aside from precautions utilities take to guard the water, they most often urge people to live with it by flushing their lines.
That may be changing. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is considering requiring the removal of lead service lines — the pipes that deliver drinking water leading into peoples’ homes. The lines are considered the main culprit in depositing lead sediment in the drinking glass.
Removing these old lead lines and replacing them with copper or plastic was one of the recommendations made by the National Drinking Water Advisory Council to the EPA in December. The council has also recommended expanding lead testing to include a broader cross-section of homes.
Now it’s up to the environmental agency, which is fashioning a new lead and copper rule, with an eye toward adoption by 2018.
Lynn Thorp, the national campaigns director for Clean Water Action, said removing service lines is expensive and complicated. But it’s the surest way to keep drinking water safe from lead, she said.
“If there’s no safe level of lead, and our efforts to control and monitor lead in the water will never be perfect, then there’s only one solution,” she said. “And that’s to get the lead out of contact with the drinking water.”
Flint plans to remove all 15,000 of its lead service lines, estimated to cost $55 million. But as a poor city, it needs to find a funding source and is looking for help from both Congress and the Michigan state legislature.
Service lines connect the home to the water main at the curb and generally are the homeowners’ responsibility. In structures that were built before 1940, these pipes were made of lead. Since then, these service lines have been made of copper or plastic, but in many older neighborhoods, the lead lines are still being used.
United Water, which serves much of Bergen County, estimates there are 9,500 lead service lines still in use, about 5 percent of the utility’s 202,000 customers.
Ridgewood NJ, A recent OPERA request turned up the Village was buying bottled water .I guess Ridgewood Water isn’t good enough for some employees. Maybe it’s the lead.
Village eblast January 5th 2015 , “The water supplied by Ridgewood Water does not have lead in it. A small number of homes in the Ridgewood Water service territory have plumbing materials that can leach lead into the water which caused an exceedance of the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for lead during routine testing in 2012. Regulatory agencies require that water utilities test for lead by setting up “worst‐case‐ scenarios” at locations at increased risk such as those known to have lead service lines. Additionally, the samples taken for testing must be water that has been undisturbed and in contact with the household plumbing for at least 6 hours. These samples are usually taken in the morning before any water has been used including the flushing of toilets. Therefore, samples are usually collected by residents. Each participating resident received the test results for their specific location. Additionally, virtually every faucet has brass components that contain a percentage of lead. This is why it is prudent to let a faucet run for several seconds before using the water for cooking and drinking, especially if the faucet has not been used for several hours. If your service line is made of lead, run the water for a longer period to clear all of the water from the service line. Please call 201‐ 670‐3372 if you are unsure of your service line material. Ridgewood Water will start using a phosphate‐based additive later this year that will also address this issue by coating the lines and faucets effectively stopping the leaching of lead into the water”
It was also recently reported that the Village’s new code enforcement officer (Ms. Tracey Jeffrey) was observed on South Monroe Street driving a vehicle with Rigewood Water logo emblazoned on the door. However, I suppose that the argument could be used that enforcement of the leaf pick up rules impacts water quality.
I observed countless vehicles emblazoned with the Ridgewood Water emblem engaged in snow removal activities on Ridgewood streets following last week’s blizzard. So it appears as though there is some merit to the lawsuit.
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood failed to send elected representatives to a mediation session Wednesday January 8th that was an effort to settle the long running class-action lawsuit against Ridgewood Water .Ridgewood Water is a public water utility owned by the village of Ridgewood , which services Ridgewood ,Wyckoff, Midland Park, and Glen Rock.
The class action lawsuit was filed against Ridgewood Water in Superior Court by Wyckoff officials in 2010, with the municipalities of Glen Rock and Midland Park joining the action as plaintiffs a year later.
The municipalities claim that Ridgewood Water artificially inflated its costs by commingling funds with the village budget and the utility raised its rates in 2010 by 21 percent and another 5 percent in 2011 and 2012. In total in the past 7 years rates have increased 37% which the plaintiffs called , “unlawful” and “excessive”.
The suit also contends the rate hikes were approved in an ordinance adopted by the village council, and characterizing these increases as “arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable and, accordingly, should be declared invalid and unenforceable.”
The suit also suggests Ridgewood officials conceived of the fee increases as a way to offset the village’s annual municipal budget using the utility to offset non related expenses .
In a more recent press release the plaintiffs called the rate increase a Village of Ridgewood scheme and that the Village transferred wholly unrelated operating costs to Ridgewood Water and used the rate increase to in-effect subsidize Ridgewood Tax payers with Wyckoff, Midland Park, and Glen Rock rate payers.
This action seeks millions in refunds for customers in all three towns. Refunds paid for by Ridgewood tax payers. While in the past the Mayor seemed to suggest confidence in the resolution of this law suit . The Ridgewood blog has continued to warn over and over that the Village faced significant liabilities due to Ridgewood Water in both billing actions ,infrastructure and water quality.
A long term plan for either disposal of the utility or a financing major strategic upgrade is long over due .
JANUARY 26, 2016, 8:53 PM LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2016, 9:04 PM
BY STEVE JANOSKI
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
RIDGEWOOD — Local officials are looking to assuage public concerns about lead in drinking water after a letter from the local water utility recommended its customers take steps to avoid lead exposure.
The letter, sent to Ridgewood Water’s customers in Glen Rock, Midland Park, Wyckoff, and Ridgewood on Jan. 5, detailed lead’s health-damaging effects and advised customers to let water run to flush out lead that could’ve leached into the system from service lines and fixtures.
But David Scheibner, business manager for Ridgewood Water, said Monday night the letter is part of a public education campaign required by the state Department of Environmental Protection because of Ridgewood Water’s past history of elevated lead levels — not because of a new threat posed to the water supply.
Ridgewood Water’s pipes don’t have lead in them, he said, and the element is “undetectable” at the 52 wells in four communities that the utility operates. But those who live in homes built prior to 1930 might have lead service lines — water lines running from the house to the water main — and those homes built during 1982 –86 might have copper service lines soldered with lead, he said.
Only about 250 of the 20,000 service connections in Ridgewood Water’s territory have been identified as definitively having a line made of either lead or copper with lead soldering, said Scheibner — “The scope is minor, but we take it very seriously,” he said.
Check your test center, and learn about makeup tests.
RegisterNext Tests:1/23 , 3/5
SAT Test Center Closings
Information about SAT test center closings for the January SAT administration date will be posted to this page as it becomes available. If a makeup date or alternate test center information has been confirmed, that information will also be included.
SAT Test Center Supervisors are instructed to notify local media outlets when their centers are unable to open due to inclement weather, natural disaster, power failure, or other problems. Please check your local media for test center closings in your area.
If your center is listed as closed:
A new center may appear in the listing. In this case, access your online account and print a new, updated ticket with the new center information noted on it. You must bring your updated ticket with you on test day to the reassigned center.
If no new center appears, please be patient while we work to arrange a makeup date — you will be contacted as soon as a makeup is scheduled. Remember: don’t try to test elsewhere on test day — supervisors cannot admit standbys or walk-ins.
Please note: If you had a Waitlist Ticket for a closed center, your original Waitlist request was canceled, and you are not eligible for makeup testing. Please register for the next available date as soon as possible.
JANUARY 21, 2016 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2016, 12:32 AM
BY LYNN BRUGGEMANN
CORRESPONDENT |
MIDLAND PARK SUBURBAN NEWS
MIDLAND PARK — The Board of Health is encouraging residents to attend a presentation on “Understanding Lead Poisoning” being sponsored by the Ridgewood Environmental Advisory Committee in Ridgewood on Jan. 25.
A representative of Ridgewood Water will reportedly be present.
Ridgewood Water issued a notice to customers on Jan. 5 saying its water does not have lead in it, but that some homes in its service territory have pipes from which lead leaches into water in excess of the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL).
Ridgewood Water serves residents in the borough, Wyckoff and Glen Rock as well as the village.
“At each of our last three meetings, the topic of Ridgewood Water has been discussed,” said Laurie DiCorcia, president of the Board of Health. “This forum offers residents an opportunity to become informed and ask questions.”
Council President Nancy Cronk Peet said she was “concerned” about the safety of the water supply and plans to attend the Jan. 25 program.
“The water coming to the borough homes and businesses must be properly monitored by the water company to assure the residents that the leaching of the lead in the older residents’ plumbing is not contaminating the drinking water,” said Peet, a member of the health board “I hope that the community will come out and ask questions about the water quality and services.”
Ridgewood Water business manager Dave Scheibner assured the Ridgewood Village Council on Wednesday, Jan. 13, that its water is safe.
JANUARY 15, 2016 LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2016, 12:31 AM
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
Troubles in Ridgewood
To the editor:
We have troubles right here in Ridgewood, New Jersey, and that rhymes with P and that stands for poor planning.
We voted yes on parking but we didn’t understand that all three garage designs would not fit on the site and would encroach on already narrow Hudson Street by 10 to 12 feet, creating huge traffic and safety issues. Mt. Carmel parishioners came out in large numbers at last week’s council meeting to express their concerns about the effects of such a structure on the church community along with many others with strong objections to the garage proposals.
We live in a small town. I believe we are a mile square which makes all of us close neighbors and thereby connected. My neighbor’s problems are mine. I don’t want a facility that hurts Mt. Carmel.
I don’t want a large baseball field that will result in the removal of many acres of woods, which is the home of at least one endangered species. Residents are worried about noise and particle pollution due to their close proximity to Route 17.
I believe we must reduce the 35 units per acre density changes in the CBD to a more manageable 22-24 up from 12.
Habernickel Park neighbors need to have their traffic and safety concerns addressed. We all travel down Hillcrest Avenue and understand the problems. My fellow residents’ issues are mine.
This is our village. We elected our council members to represent us. I thought that meant they would also listen to us and when possible, act accordingly. I see all of our issues bring resolved with some form of compromise.
We would all benefit from that approach and in the process, we wouldn’t hurt our neighbors or in the long run, ourselves.
JANUARY 14, 2016 LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, JANUARY 14, 2016, 3:17 PM
BY MATTHEW SCHNEIDER
STAFF WRITER |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS
The Village Council decided this week to go forward with multifamily housing impact studies on education, municipal planning, fiscal impact and traffic, hiring three firms to complete the work.
Ross Haber Associates (education), RBA Group (traffic) and BFJ Planning/Urbanomics (fiscal and municipal planning) were selected for the studies.
A special public meeting was held in the Benjamin Franklin Middle School auditorium on Tuesday, and featured interviews with five consulting firms.
Presentations
Ross Haber Associates recently conducted a study for the Ridgewood Board of Education on the feasibility of full-day kindergarten.
Haber explained that his studies for the village would be focused on what financial impact the new additions would have on Ridgewood schools.
“Would these new students in any way, shape or form impact the budget?” he asked. “Would it require the hiring of new staff? Might the expansion include construction in the schools if needed? Would you need additional crossing guards?
“This is not to say that any of these things are going to happen,” Haber said, “this is to say these things could happen.”
Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood Environmental Advisory Committee (REAC) in conjunction with the Park and Recreation Department is pleased to present a series of environmentally focused programs – Back to Basics – Healthy Lifestyle. The first program will be Monday, January 25th at 7:00pm in the Community Center Senior Lounge and the topic will be
“Understanding Lead Poisoning.” This will be an informational presentation by Dawn Cetrulo, Health Supervisor, Ridgewood Health Department and Danielle Cinnante, Health Educator, Valley Hospital. All are invited to this free program. Future topics in this series will be Beekeeping Basics; Streetscapes – Trees, Sidewalks, Roads and Re forestation; Backyard Composting; From Garden to Table; Recycling – After materials leave the curb. Details to follow.
