Tag: Ridgewood Water

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Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld says NO Lead in the Drinking Water

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Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld says NO Lead in the Drinking Water 
January 5th 2015

Dear E-Notice Residents,

It has come to our attention that the public education notice regarding lead test results has created concern among some of the residents in our service area.  Please be aware that the language in the notice is prescribed by regulation and may cause undue concern.

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.

There will be a presentation at the Council Meeting this Wednesday that will provide a forum for additional questions and answers.   You may also watch it on TV.   You are invited to attend and voice your concerns at that point or you may call Ridgewood Water at201-670-5500 ext. 273 or 275.

Best Regards,

Roberta Sonenfeld

Village Manager
201-670-5500, ext. 203

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Lawsuit involving contaminated drinking water in E. Orange, S. Orange to be settled soon

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East Orange officials and William Mowell, former assistant executive director of the East Orange Water Commission, pictured right, have been facing a lawsuit by a former commission employee. (File photo/New Jersey Department of Corrections) (File photo/New Jersey Department of Corrections)

Lawsuit involving contaminated drinking water in E. Orange, S. Orange to be settled soon

EAST ORANGE — A tentative settlement has been reached in a lawsuit over an effort to hide elevated levels of an industrial solvent in drinking water pumped to residents in the city and neighboring South Orange.

The agreement would resolve a lawsuit filed by former East Orange Water Commission employee Thomas Valenza involving claims that the commission’s former executive director, Harry Mansmann, and former assistant executive director William Mowell schemed to hide the water contamination.

Mansmann and Mowell were both indicted in February 2013 on criminal charges related to the alleged scheme. Mansmann later died and Mowell was sentenced on Dec. 12 to three years in state prison after pleading guilty.

In the lawsuit, which was initially filed in April 2013 in New Jersey Superior Court, Valenza alleges he was directed to turn off contaminated wells before collecting samples, but he refused to do so. Valenza was later “forced to retire,” after learning about illegal activity at the agency, the lawsuit states.

https://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/2015/01/settlement_pending_in_lawsuit_over_east_orange_water_commission.html#incart_river

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RIDGEWOOD WATER BOIL WATER ADVISORY – Upper Blvd. Water Main

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RIDGEWOOD WATER BOIL WATER ADVISORY – Upper Blvd. Water Main

For customers of Ridgewood Water – 00251001.

Ridgewood Water is providing notification that a water main break has occurred at Upper Blvd. in Ridgewood, NJ. which has caused customers within our service area to (Select applicable phrase: be without water or experience a significant loss of pressure). A potential or actual threat to the quality of water being provided to you currently exists. As a precaution, we are implementing a (Select applicable phrase: system wide or limited Boil Water Advisory until testing of the water supply is deemed satisfactory.

What should I do? What does this mean?

Effect immediately and until further notice, customers within the impacted service area of Upper Blvd. Customers are instructed to bring tap water to a rolling boil for one minute and allow the tap water to cool before using, or use bottled water. Boiled or bottled water should be used for drinking; preparing foods; mixing baby formula, food, juices or drinks; washing vegetables and fruit; cooking; cooking; making ice; brushing teeth; and washing dishes until further notice. Boiling kills bacteria and other organisms in the water.

The following measures are also recommended:

– Throw away uncooked food or beverages or ice cubes made with tap water during the day of the advisory;

– Keep boiled water in the refrigerator for drinking;

-Do not swallow water while showering or bathing;

– Rinse hand-washed dishes with a diluted bleach solution (one tablespoon of household bleach per gallon of tap water) or clean your dishes in a dishwasher using the hot wash cycle and dry cycle;

– Do not use home filtering devices in place of boiling or using bottled water; most home water filters will not provide adequate protection from microorganisms;

– Use only boiled water to treat minor injuries;

– Provide pets with drinking water that has been boiled and cooled.

Please continue to boil your water or use bottled water until you are notified that the water quality is satisfactory.

further information: Larry Coslow at 201/670-5524

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Former Ridgewood Water Exec Gets 3 years prison for Falsifying Reports

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Ex-top official of East Orange water agency gets 3 years in prison

Formerly the chief engineer for Ridgewood Water.

TRENTON — A former top official of the East Orange Water Commission was sentenced to three years in prison today for hiding elevated levels of an industrial solvent in drinking water pumped to more than 80,000 residents in the city and neighboring South Orange.

William Mowell, 52, of Wyckoff, pleaded guilty in July to conspiring with the agency’s former executive director, Harry Mansmann, to falsify levels of tetrachloroethene to show the water was safe to drink, the state Attorney General’s Office said.

As part of his sentence, handed down by state Superior Court Judge Carolyn Wright, Mowell will be permanently banned form public office and public employment in the state.

https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2014/12/ex-top_official_of_east_orange_water_agency_gets_3_years_in_prison.html#incart_river

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Planning Board Meeting Schedule : Land Use Amendment of the Master Plan

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Planning Board Meeting Schedule : Land Use Amendment of the Master Plan

Planning Board Amended Meeting Schedule – December 16th at BFMS

PLANNING BOARD AMENDMENT TO MEETING SCHEDULE

Special Public Meeting: Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Change of Location

In accordance with the provisions of the “Open Public Meetings Act,” please be advised that the Planning Board has scheduled a special public meeting and work session for TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2014, in the Benjamin Franklin Middle School Auditorium, 335 North Van Dien Avenue, Ridgewood, NJ – 7:30 P.M

The Board may take official action during this Special Public Meeting at which time the Board will continue the public hearing concerning a proposed amendment to the Land Use Plan Element of the Master Plan which would recommend changes in zone district classifications and boundaries within the Central Business District and surrounding area, creating the AH-2, B-3-R, and C-R Zone Districts and amending the existing C Zone District.

All meetings of the Ridgewood Planning Board (i.e., official public meetings, work session meetings, pre-meeting assemblies and special meetings) are public meetings which are always open to members of the general public.

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NJ Senate bill would ease sales of water utilities

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NJ Senate bill would ease sales of water utilities

NOVEMBER 29, 2014, 11:50 PM    LAST UPDATED: SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2014, 11:54 PM
BY JAMES M. O’NEILL
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

As some New Jersey towns weigh whether to sell off their aging, burdensome drinking-water systems to for-profit water companies, a controversial bill making its way through the state Senate would speed up such sales by stripping away a mandatory public vote on the deals.

Proponents say the bill would make it easier for towns to sell their water and sewer systems and escape costly regulation and infrastructure upgrades — a decision recently weighed by several North Jersey towns, including Ramsey and Allendale.

Critics, however, say the Water Infrastructure Protection Act would cut the public out of the process and could lead to water rate hikes. There is also a concern about selling off a natural resource.

For the 200 small publicly owned water systems in the state — 20 or so in Bergen and Passaic counties — the sharp debate over the bill comes at a time when municipalities, struggling to keep up with more stringent drinking water regulations and facing old water mains, weigh whether to get out of the water business. For-profit water companies are interested in buying the municipal systems to continue their own growth.

Sen. Paul Sarlo, D-Wood-Ridge, and a prime sponsor of the measure, believes “no town should be in the public water supply business.”

https://www.northjersey.com/news/nj-senate-bill-would-ease-sales-of-water-utilities-1.1143657

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Privatization of public water, sewer systems could be fast-tracked under N.J. bill

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Privatization of public water, sewer services systems could be fast-tracked under N.J. bill

Trenton voters were given the opportunity to sell the city’s water system to a private company in 2010. The $80 million sale was defeated in a 4-to-1 landslide.

At Tuesday’s polls, hundreds of voters in tiny Sussex Borough overwhelmingly rejected a similar sale of their public system to private hands, while Haddonfield in Camden County solidly approved selling its deteriorating system to New Jersey American Water.

But such direct public mandate on water and sewer sales may become a thing of the past, as a bill in the Legislatures allowing public entities to fast-track selling water and sewer systems that serve millions advances this fall.

The sponsors of the “Water Infrastructure Protection Act” say it’s a way to get desperately-needed investment into water systems that have been neglected to the breaking point by government owners. The bill’s opponents warn that it’s an attempt to turn private profits of public infrastructure at the expense of taxpayers – who themselves will end up paying for the purchase prices with each flush of the toilet.

https://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/11/public_would_no_longer_get_vote_on_selling_water_sewer_systems_under_advancing_nj_bill.html#incart_river

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Water meter conversion project in Ridgewood almost complete

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Water meter conversion project in Ridgewood almost complete
November 3, 2014    Last updated: Monday, November 3, 2014, 1:35 PM
By Jodi Weinberger
Staff Writer |
The Ridgewood News

The village expects to complete its water meter upgrade program in the next six months.

File Photo
Ridgewood’s conversion to radio water meters, which are believed to result in more accurate billing, should be completed in the next six months.

The water utility has been working for years to convert its 20,000 customers – including ratepayers in the village, Glen Rock, Midland Park and Wyckoff – to radio meters, which officials said would result in more accurate billing for customers.

According to Ridgewood Water, the new meters will make it possible to “quickly and efficiently” collect meter readings without entering the property or connecting to telephone circuits, a process that was causing major swings in usage estimates.

Ridgewood Water has contracted with Lenegan Plumbing and Heating for the conversion.

In July, the Village Council voted to accelerate the program, which Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld said would have taken up to three more years to complete.

However, in the process of conversion, some customers received a tidal wave of usage fees in their first billing following the upgrade as previous bills had likely been underestimated..
https://www.northjersey.com/news/business/end-in-sight-for-meter-upgrade-project-1.1125590

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New water meters lead to much higher bills for some in Ridgewood

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New water meters lead to much higher bills for some in Ridgewood

OCTOBER 24, 2014    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2014, 1:21 AM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER | 
THE RECORD

RIDGEWOOD — A move to upgrade thousands of water meters throughout the village has been a shock for some business owners and residents who have received larger-than-expected bills.

Some residents have received water bills that are thousands of dollars higher than they’ve been used to paying. A number of businesses have paid hundreds of dollars more for their water.

The bigger bills, officials said, are the result of accurate readings on actual use. In recent years, estimated water and sewer discharge bills were based on predicted or past use.

The village has stepped up efforts the past month to replace all of the water meters in Ridgewood, according to officials.

Meters that were installed several years ago have since become obsolete, requiring installation of so-called radio-read meters.

The updated meters emit low-level radio frequencies, easily detectable using specialized hand-held instruments; such meters eliminate the need for readers to enter homes or businesses.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/new-water-meters-lead-to-surprises-1.1117227#sthash.93rgXbKh.dpuf

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No “Golden Toilets ” for Habernickel

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No “Golden Toilets ” for Habernickel

Habernickel horse barn renovation scrapped for now – prefab building maybe
October 22,2014
Boyd A. Loving
12:45 AM 

Ridgewood NJ, Based on the recommendation of Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld, Village Council members have seemingly nixed plans to undertake an expensive renovation of the Irene Habernickel Family Park’s horse barn.  The renovation project was being considered to satisfy a need for permanent restrooms and shelter from inclement weather at the expansive park located on Hillcrest Road.

Sonenfeld suggested that a prefabricated restroom may be a less expensive alternative, with preliminary estimates in the $60K – $90K price range.  A $60K grant may help offset costs.

Many of you may remember that the restroom project at Vets Field wound up costing taxpayers almost $400K, and those commodes were constructed in an existing building.

Pay close attention to this one folks . . .

Esurance

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Overnight Milling Project at Garber Square in Ridgewood

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photos by Boyd Loving

Overnight Milling Project at Garber Square 
October 21,2104
Boyd A. Loving

Ridgewood NJ, Garber Square, Ridgewood was closed in both directions (eastbound and westbound) to all vehicular traffic from 2000 hours on Monday, 10/20/2014, through 0600 hours on Tuesday, 10/21/2014 to allow for milling of the road surface in preparation for paving.  This work was performed in connection with a major streetscape project approved by the Ridgewood Village Council.  In addition to paving, the project will include the addition of bike lanes in both directions, the reduction of traffic lanes from two lanes to one lane, and a median island.

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photos by Boyd Loving

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“Significant discharger” fees may have been billed in error

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“Significant discharger” fees may have been billed in error

ATTENTION:  Owners/operators of Ridgewood businesses at which water meters were upgraded to “radio read meters” may have received bills for “significant discharger” fees in error.

If you received an unusually high water bill due to prior use of “estimated” readings, the Village of Ridgewood’s accounting department may have mistakenly thought you were a “significant discharger” and billed you as such.

If you believe you may have been billed in error, you should contact Ms. Mary Jo Gilmore, Village of Ridgewood Tax Collector, at 201-670-5500 extension 225.

YOU SNOOZE, YOU LOSE –  The Village seems to be leaving up to business owners themselves to determine if a billing error took place; i.e., no effort is being made by the Village to find out who might have been billed in error.

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Ridgewood Water – Emergency Repairs

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photo by Boyd Loving

Ridgewood Water – Emergency Repairs

Ridgewood Water made emergency repairs in two locations today – South Van Dien Avenue at Spring Avenue in Ridgewood and Ravine Avenue at Ravine Court in Wyckoff. If your home or business is near these locations you might experience discolored water from your faucets. The discoloration is from minerals that have been stirred up by turbulence in the mains. You may flush the discoloration out of your piping by running faucets until the water is clear. There is no need for health concerns but residents are cautioned to avoid doing laundry until the discoloration has been completely flushed from household piping.

Esurance

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Ridgewood’s Valley Hospital sues over rejection of expansion project

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Ridgewood’s Valley Hospital sues over rejection of expansion project

OCTOBER 3, 2014, 11:53 PM    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2014, 11:56 PM
BY MARY JO LAYTON
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

The Valley Hospital filed suit Friday against the Ridgewood Planning Board for rejecting its proposal to nearly double in size, arguing the board illegally sided with neighborhood opponents rather than permitting an upgrade for “an inherently beneficial regional hospital.”

For Valley, the lawsuit filed in state Superior Court in Hackensack is an attempt to end a protracted and costly stalemate with the village — its expansion plans have been defeated two times in the last four years.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/ridgewood-s-valley-hospital-sues-over-rejection-of-expansion-project-1.1102356#sthash.4G5tiib0.dpuf

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Ridgewood council weighs costs of turf versus grass

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file photo Boyd Loving

Ridgewood council weighs costs of turf versus grass

AUGUST 14, 2014    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, AUGUST 14, 2014, 3:48 PM
BY LAURA HERZOG
STAFF WRITER

Artificial turf appears to cost less to maintain than grass, at least on Maple Field.

According to Village Manager Roberta Sonenfeld, an estimated $121,500 was spent maintaining the turf on Maple Field during an eight-year period from 2006 to 2014.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/ridgewood-council-weighs-costs-of-turf-versus-grass-1.1067710#sthash.qIgm1R3Q.dpuf