NJ American Water: Water Restoration Could Take Days

In a press release sent overnight, New Jersey American Water reported that restoration of water service to Maplewood, Millburn and other towns could take days.

"New Jersey American Water estimates that it could take a minimum of several days for the Canoe Brook Plant to recover," reads the release. The company reports that customers in Summit, West Orange, Millburn, Maplewood, Irvington and Springfield are experiencing no water or low water pressure. The water company says it is seeking other sources of water to return service to customers in those areas as soon as possible.

"Crews are working around the clock to ensure that two of its water treatment plants remain operable and ask customers to limit water use to essential needs only until the situation is resolved," read the release. 

The release explains, "In the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, flood waters inundated the company’s Canoe Brook Water Treatment Plant in Short Hills, Essex County, disrupting the plant’s water treatment and distribution processes."

The release explains the company's preparation before the onslaught of Hurricane Irene:

On Saturday night, the flood gates were closed at New Jersey American Water’s Raritan Millstone Plant in Bridgewater in Somerset County in anticipation of Irene’s heavy rains and flooding. The flood walls have protected the plant; however the facility lost power and is running off of a limited supply of emergency power. High flood waters have prevented electric utility workers from reaching the inside of the plant or from working just outside of the plant to reconnect electric service. Company officials have been working with PSE&G, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the State Police to devise a plan to restore power to the Raritan Millstone Plant.  The company’s Canal Road Water Treatment Plant, in nearby Somerset can serve as a backup if power resumption to the Raritan Millstone Plant is delayed.

New Jersey American is asking its customers to reduce or limit as much water use as possible while the company works to restore the plants, as well as other facilities in its service areas. Customers should limit all water uses and refrain from any nonessential uses of water to conserve water. Recovery to normal operations could take several days and customer conservation will be necessary until further notice. Large industrial customers should also reduce their water use where possible.

“We are seeking all possible remedies to maintain and restore water service to our customers,” said Steve Tambini, vice president of operations at New Jersey American Water. “The state agencies and water and electric utilities with whom we’ve been in contact have been a tremendous help and we anticipate bringing our facilities back to full operation. We thank our customers for their patience during this situation.”

Together with the Canal Road Water Treatment Plant, the Raritan Millstone Plant serves more that 212,000 customers. The Canoe Brook Water Treatment Plant serves more than 42,000 customers.

New Jersey American Water advises customers that updated information will be available on its website at www.newjerseyamwater.com, under the Alerts Notifications section, and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/newjerseyamericanwater. Customers should call 1-800-652-6987 with questions.