Published in the Asbury Park Press
By Jean Mikle
TOMS RIVER BUREAU
Sparked by Memorial Day problems
DOVER TOWNSHIP — A receiver should be appointed to take over the operations of United Water Toms River because the company has failed to provide a safe and adequate supply of drinking water, according to a lawsuit Dover Township filed Friday in Superior Court.
The lawsuit, filed by the township and fire commissioners from Dover's fire districts 1 and 2, accuses the water company of mismanaging its franchise here, engaging in illegal activities, being negligent in maintaining its system and breaching its contract with the township, which requires United to provide an adequate supply of drinking water.
Council President Gregory P. McGuckin said the lawsuit was suggested earlier this week by Councilman Brian Kubiel, who was one of many United customers who saw their water pressure drop to a trickle on the evening of Memorial Day.
"It's clear that they do not have the ability to properly staff, properly monitor and properly operate the system in this town," McGuckin said Friday. "We want to take the day-to-day operations of running the company out of their hands."
Superior Court Judge Vincent J. Grasso is expected to hear arguments on the township's lawsuit at 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
United Water spokeswoman Deb Rizzi said late Friday she had not seen the lawsuit.
"I don't think we can comment on something we have not seen," Rizzi said.
Kubiel, who represents Ward 2, said residents of Holiday City at Silverton in his ward have frequently complained about low water pressure. Water pressure complaints are also common in northwestern Dover, where much new construction has been completed in the past decade.
Council members and Mayor Paul C. Brush said Monday's water pressure problems in parts of the township convinced them that immediate steps must be taken to make sure residents have enough water this summer.
"It's imperative that we initiate immediate legal action to wrest control of this water company away from them because they put the public's safety at risk," Brush said Friday. "It's time to change course and have someone else running the water company."
Linda L. Gillick, a Dover resident who chairs the Citizens Action Committee on Childhood Cancer Cluster, applauded the township's action.
"I guess the township has to move ahead and do what they feel is in the best interest of protecting the public health," Gillick said.
The township's lawsuit asks that the receiver take control of the water company at least until Dover's petition to the Board of Public Utilities to revoke United's franchise is resolved. That petition was filed in March, but there is no timetable for a BPU decision on the matter.
Parts of northwestern Dover, Squire Village, sections of Lake Ridge, as well as portions of the township off Hooper Avenue, were without water service for about two hours Monday evening.
The low water pressure led Dover to activate its emergency operations center, and volunteer firefighters positioned water tanker trucks at the Pleasant Plains and Silverton fire companies to assist in fighting fires.
More than 40 residents called the police department to complain of little or no water pressure, and Police Chief Michael G. Mastronardy said he and other officers were at first unable to reach United officials to find out what was happening.
Mastronardy said in an affidavit filed with the township's lawsuit that Shore Meadows Nursing Home, on Warner Way in northwestern Dover, was also without water Monday and had called police, concerned about residents' safety.
Pleasant Plains Fire Chief Christopher E. Aldrich said United Water Toms River General Manager Nadine Leslie initially did not know why there was no water pressure and at first said it could be because of high demand. Kubiel and fellow council members Maurice B. "Mo" Hill Jr. and Maria Maruca all said they received several calls from constituents about low water pressure Monday, but were unable to reach United officials for some time.
Water company officials have said United can supply up to 25 million gallons of water daily. United officials have not publicly said how much water their customers demanded on Monday, a sultry day.
"Problems can occur with any water system that are the result of oversight or simple neglect," Aldrich said in his affidavit. "In this instance, however, there was no fail-safe method to not only monitor the supply of water, but to inform safety personnel of emergencies."
United officials have blamed the low pressure on a non-operating well and the failure of a computer system that is supposed to indicate to company employees if all systems are working properly.
Employees who were working on Memorial Day also did not realize that Well 42 was not pumping. The well produces up to 1.73 million gallons of water a day.
The non-operating well, coupled with high demand for water, created a crisis when the water tank at routes 9 and 70 was completely emptied, and another tank, on Indian Hill Road, had only about two feet of water left in it, United officials said. The nearly-empty tanks resulted in almost no water pressure in several sections of Dover.
"United Water Toms River has created a risky situation for Dover Township," John Lightbody, chief of the township's Bureau of Fire Prevention, said in his affidavit. "There are residential day-care and medical facilities located in the northwest section of Dover Township. Low water pressure means that fire sprinkler systems will not work, nor will the fire hydrants provide adequate fire flow."
Published in the Asbury Park Press 06/3/06
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