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Council advances funding for additional filters at Peconic plant; residents press for water-quality oversight
Summary
The Newark Municipal Council advanced an ordinance on Sept. 17 to bond for two additional filters at the Peconic Water Treatment Plant and heard residents demand stronger oversight of watershed maintenance and filter installation quality.
The Newark Municipal Council voted on Sept. 17 to advance an ordinance that would bond for two additional filters at the Peconic Water Treatment Plant to increase capacity as the city grows. The proposed addition follows a $22 million optimization project the administration said had recently completed.
Public commenters, including several longtime residents, urged the council to ensure proper oversight and maintenance of the watershed and treatment facilities and to provide clearer reporting on recent work and outstanding problems. Donna Jackson and other speakers raised concerns about fire damage and ash in watershed areas, filters clogging, and whether prior filter installations were properly completed.
"Are the filters gonna get clogged now?" asked a public commenter who warned about recent fires in watershed properties and asked whether contractors and installations had been properly vetted.
Grama Dean, director of Newark's Department of Water and Sewer Utilities, told the council that when the plant came online in 1990 it was built with space for growth, that the plant initially had capacity for 14 filters but only 12 were installed, and that the city remains in compliance with state and federal water regulations. Dean said expanding filters will provide more delivered water for Newark and wholesale customers as the population and demand have grown. "The city is in compliance, has been in compliance for the last 5 years," the director said, and added the administration has invested about $560 million in water and wastewater upgrades to date.
Why it matters: Water treatment capacity and watershed management have direct implications for public health and for operating costs; residents asked for more transparency on maintenance and on how firefighting and watershed incidents affect water safety.
Next steps: The council advanced the ordinance for public hearing and second reading; the water director said the project will proceed through bonding and procurement steps to add two filters and increase treatment capacity.
