Published in the Asbury Park Press
By JEAN MIKLE
TOMS RIVER BUREAU
DOVER TOWNSHIP - Township Committeeman Carmine C. Inteso Jr. says he plans to ask local legislators to consider introducing a bill that would change the way homeowners must pay to connect to a public water system.
"I'll talk with our assemblymen and senators, and tell them what you want," Inteso told a gathering of more than 100 residents of the Windsor Park neighborhood Tuesday night.
The residents had come to attend an informational meeting about getting public water service in their neighborhood, where between 300 and 400 houses still rely on wells for their drinking water.
Following more than 90 minutes of questions and answers with officials from the state Department of Environmental Protection, United Water Toms River, the Ocean County Health Department and the township, many residents said they were frustrated about the way the law requires them to pay for public water service.
Many residents in the area are interested in connecting to United Water's system because mercury and low levels of some volatile organic contaminants have been found in 21 wells located in the area off Windsor and Beachwood avenues.
The state is paying to connect about 80 homes in a groundwater contamination area to the public water system, but state officials said they cannot extend water lines to areas outside the delineated contamination zone.
United Water General Manager George Flegal said the state Board of Public Utilities, which regulates the water company, does not allow United Water to contribute more than $1,250 per household to defray the costs of hooking up new customers. That figure represents about five times the average cost of a yearly water bill, he said.
Extending water mains in the Windsor Park area is expensive, Flegal said, because the water table is so high in the area that extensive "de-watering" must be done to install the pipes.
It would likely cost about $5,300 per house to bring public water to the Windsor Park neighborhood, Flegal said, meaning each homeowner would have to pay about $4,000 for the work -- if everyone in the neighborhood signed up to get public water.
If fewer than 100 percent of the residents sign up, the cost can increase astronomically, Flegal said.
Under state law, if seven of 10 residents on a particular street agree to pay for the installation of water lines in their area, the remaining three homeowners can sign up to receive water service later, after the lines are installed. Those homeowners pay a greatly reduced cost for the hookup, because the water mains have already been installed.
The water company cannot refuse to extend service to those three homeowners, and also cannot charge them the greater fee. This frequently causes resentment and bad feelings among neighbors, officials said Tuesday.
Published in the Asbury Park Press 1/17/02
|
