NJ DEP
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
VENTNOR – The Board of Commissioners Thursday, July 13 introduced a $22 million bond ordinance appropriating funds to replace lead and galvanized steel water service lines.
The bond will pay for the first phase of a multi-year project, which will fund replacement of 1,418 service lines containing lead or galvanized steel. According to Mayor Lance Landgraf, the entire project, which the state says must be completed within 10 years, is about $66 million.
“This will allow us to be in the lead to get grant funds,” Landgraf said. “We are pushing back to the state to extend the time, because 10 years is an awfully short period of time. In order to be ready for funding that could be available and to get the work started, we have already put plans in place so when we replace streets and water lines, we can replace it right up to the house.”
The city plans to apply to the NJ Infrastructure Bank Financing Program, called iBank, an independent state financing authority established 34 years ago that provides low interest loans with a 30-year payback.
In addition to replacing the service lines, funding would be used to repave streets, replace structures, surveys, designs, engineering, preparing specifications, permitting, bid documentation, construction, inspections, administration, and financial accounting.
Atlantic City was recently awarded a $1.9 million iBank loan to fund the replacement of water meters.
iBank’s current rates for ensuring a safe drinking water supply in New Jersey municipalities is .369% for short-term loans or 50% of market rate for longer-term loans.
Replacing questionable water service lines is part of a nationwide effort to rid communities of lead water lines that could cause health problems for children. According to legislation signed by Gov. Phil Murphy in July 2021, public water systems are required to replace all known lead and galvanized steel pipes in their service area.
According to the NJ Department of Environmental Protection, galvanized service lines are steel pipes that have been dipped in a protective zinc coating to prevent corrosion and rust. Galvanized piping was commonly installed in homes built before 1960 and was used as an alternative to lead pipes for water supply lines.
Lead can cause serious health issues when ingested, including brain and kidney damage. Infants, children and pregnant women are most at risk. The mineral can cause lower IQ in young children and kidney damage and high blood pressure in adults. Lead exposure can also come from the dust produced from lead-based paints that have been outlawed.
Ventnor’s utility consistently tests less than the 15 parts per billion threshold set by the DEP to notify residents there is lead in their drinking water. Ventnor’s water tested at a high of 2.4 parts per billion in 2011, and last year’s water analysis noted the city’s water included 1.2 parts of lead per billion.
“We are well below the threshold where it becomes a problem for our drinking water, but the state is requiring us to replace all of the galvanized service lines that may exist in Ventnor,” Landgraf said previously.
A public hearing on the ordinance will be held 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 10.
In other business, the board promoted Lindsay O’Connell to the position of interim police sergeant to fill a vacancy created by a permanent employee’s temporary leave of absence. It accepted the retirements of Thomas Mannering and Jason Rzemyk, authorized full-time employment for Frank Sarno and adjusted the salary of Dino Cavalieri. It also approved a dozen tax abatements for newly constructed properties.
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