MANALAPAN and SOUTH ORANGE - Voters in Manalapan Township and the Village of South Orange on Election Day approved plans to sell their aging water utilities.
By a 2-to-1 margin, Manalapan Township residents voted to sell their municipal utility to Veolia Water for $4 million. According to the latest election returns, the vote was 13,049 in favor and 6,481 opposed.
In South Orange, the vote was more narrow as the majority of ballots will permit the village to sell the municipal water system to New Jersey American Water for $19.7 million. The vote: 4,562 in a favor; 2,788 opposed.
Selling public water utilities to private companies pays off accumulated debt and hands over the job of running the municipal water systems. Large utilities have the expertise and resources to handle such a responsibility.
In Manalapan, Veolia already manages the water system supporting 18% of township homes. The company plans to improve the infrastructure of the water system over the next 10 years by replacing aging pipes, constructing a new water treatment plant and repairing water tanks.
Veolia's goal is to “improve service quality, reliability and sustainability" of local water infrastructure "for years to come.”
“We are honored by the trust the residents of Manalapan have placed in us,” Alan Weland, the regional president of Veolia Water NJ, said. “This acquisition is an exciting opportunity for us and we are eager to make improvements that will serve this community.”
In South Orange, Mayor Sheena C. Collum said she is "grateful a clear majority of residents supported selling our water system to New Jersey American Water."
"Voters took the time to learn about the future challenges of the Village retaining ownership of our aging water infrastructure and the need to dramatically increase rates to address those challenges," the mayor added.
South Orange water users will join 668,000 New Jersey American Water customers and gain the expertise and economies of scale our neighboring communities of Maplewood, Millburn, West Orange, and Irvington have all enjoyed for decades, particularly while navigating a volatile regulatory environment, Collum said.
“I want to thank the residents, Mayor Collum, the Council members and Village Administration for entrusting us with their water system,” said Mark McDonough, president of New Jersey American Water.
“Water and sewer is all we do, and as the long-time contract operator and water provider in South Orange Village we are deeply committed to making the needed improvements to help ensure the community’s water service is safe, reliable and affordable," he said. "We will be working with the Village to finalize the details of the transaction, and we look forward to getting started and delivering upon the commitments we made.”
