By: Mike Deak, MyCentralJersey.com
August 17, 2023
Borough voters will decide in November whether to sell Manville’s sanitary sewer system for $6.5 million.
If approved by voters in the Nov. 7 general election, New Jersey American Water, the prospective buyer, will also make $10 million in capital improvements to the system over a decade.
New Jersey American Water has also agreed to no sewer rate increase in Manville for 2024, a 2% increase in 2025, 3% each in 2026, 2027 and 2028 and 4% each in 2029 and 2030. The rates require final approval from the state Board of Public Utilities.
“New Jersey American Water is excited to have the opportunity to offer a solution to the Borough of Manville through this proposed acquisition of its sewer system,” Mark McDonough, president of New Jersey American Water, said in a statement. “As the borough’s water provider since 2001, we are a trusted member of the community and are committed to making the needed investments into the aging sewer system – the same way we have invested into the water system – that will provide safe, reliable and affordable service now and for years to come.”
The $6.5 million from the sale will be used to pay off Manville’s debt.
The ordinance to place the question on the November ballot was adopted by the Borough Council on Monday.
Voters in Somerville and Bound Brook have already voted to sell their sewer systems to New Jersey American Water.
In 2022, Somerville voters gave the sale a 3-1 margin of approval while in Bound Brook, voters decided in 2021 by a 63% approve the sale.
In Somerville, the sale was for $7 million with New Jersey American Water agreeing to invest $9.5 million in the system.
In Bound Brook, the sale was for $5 million with the company investing $11 million into the system.
Advocates of the sale in both towns said the sale would enable necessary capital improvements to the aging sewer infrastructure without going into debt.
If Manville voters reject the sale, the borough will begin the process to immediately raise rates to fund the necessary capital improvements and maintenance.
New Jersey American Water, a subsidiary of American Water, is the largest investor-owned water utility in the state, providing water and wastewater services to approximately 2.8 million people.