Newark Water Emergency: New Plan Revealed To Fast-Track Process Of Replacing Lead Pipes

[Eugene]

Source: CBS New York

Newark Water Emergency: New Plan Revealed To Fast-Track Process Of Replacing Lead Pipes

August 26, 2019 at 12:24 pm

NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork) – New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka announced a new plan Monday to fast-track the process of replacing all lead service pipes amid the city’s ongoing water emergency.

The plan would significantly reduce the time it would take to replace those pipes.

Murphy and Baraka were joined by other elected officials to announce the latest solution to address elevated lead levels found in the city’s drinking water.

Under the plan, Essex County will issue a $120 million bond to replace the problematic lead service pipes. It drastically speeds up the ongoing project, which was initially scheduled to take eight to 10 years. With the new investment, the work should get underway in a couple of weeks and could be completed in just two years.

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Read more: https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2019/08/26/newark-water-emergency-lead-pipe-replacement/

[NJCher]

1. this is good news

I didn't want Murphy as governor but I've been pleased with the way he's handled most things so far.

This doesn't only affect Newark. The town of Bloomfield also gets its water through the Newark water supply.

[MichMan]

2. It's only been two years since the EPA indicated that lead levels were 4x the allowable amount

This program should have been kicked off then instead of waiting for more people to be poisoned.

[MichMan]

3. How is it that Adeem got this position in the first place and why does he still have a job?

"Newark has had water woes for years with old infrastructure but no funding to replace it. Decades ago, the city instituted a corrosion control program that prevents lead from leaching from pipes into water, but in 2016, the chemical stopped working. Public records show the city increased the acidity of the water to combat carcinogens, but the acidity may have reduced the effectiveness of the corrosion control chemical, leading to increased lead levels in drinking water.

“That is responsibility of the city to make sure, and DEP, to kind of figure that out so that it doesn’t happen down the line,” Gabby said.
Newark officials took that action on their own to meet safety standards.

The city decision maker at that time and still in the position, Kareem Adeem, is not an engineer or even a college graduate and has a criminal record. Baraka has defended Adeem, saying he knows what’s best for city water. "