Borough awards phase‑1 lead‑service‑line replacement covering 235 services, engineer says

The borough awarded a contract for the first phase of replacing lead or galvanized water service lines that covers 235 identified services, borough engineer Trevor Taylor said during public comment and a presentation.

"Tonight on the agenda was the award for the 1st phase of the replacement of the lead service lines," Taylor said, explaining the DEP mandate requires municipalities to review and test service lines and to complete testing and replacements by 2031. He told residents the borough received an EPA grant for initial evaluation and that the phase‑1 contract includes both replacement work and test pits to identify additional unknown services.

Taylor said the contract covers replacements either from the curb stop to the house or from the house to the water main and that the borough will cover restoration work to homeowners when yards or roads must be excavated and repaired. He confirmed a publicly available list identifies 235 properties included in the phase‑1 work and that additional properties found by testing could be added to future phases.

Council members and residents asked how property owners would know if their service was identified; Taylor said the borough website lists identified properties under Public Works news → "lead in drinking water," and that the borough has an application pending with the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank that could provide principal forgiveness of up to 50% on financing. He emphasized the DEP requirement that any identified lead or galvanized service be reported to homeowners and replaced.