AroUND toWN TWW suspends shutoffs for delinquent customers

Trenton Water Works has suspended shutting off service to residents who have fallen behind on paying their bills, the water utility has announced.

TWW said that it made this decision to allow customers who are struggling with payment challenges extra time to access utility-assistance programs, such as the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program.

“We are doing everything we can to help our customers catch up on past-due water bills, including offering payment agreements. We are sending a postcard to our customers this week reminding them about LIHWAP,” said Sean Semple, acting director of the city’s Department of Water and Sewer, which operates Trenton Water Works. “LIHWAP is an excellent resource, in addition to other state and nonprofit assistance, and I encourage those who need help to learn about it and submit an application.”

LIHWAP is a temporary federal program to assist eligible households in paying for drinking water and sewer services during the Covid-19 pandemic. Assistance payments are applied directly to a qualified customer’s water account.

The program can help water-utility customers avoid service interruptions, restore services, pay reconnection fees and stay up to date on payments.

The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs administers the federal program at the state level and maintains a website where residents can apply: waterassistance.nj.gov.

New Jersey’s Winter Termination Program, a moratorium on shutoffs, ended on March 15. However, TWW said that it is suspending residential service interruptions to give customers more time to learn about and apply for assistance from programs like LIHWAP.

Commercial and business accounts are not eligible, but Semple said TWW will work with business customers who have past-due balances. “All they have to do is call us at 1-866-TWW-BLUE to make payment arrangements or come into our office at 333 Cortland Street in Trenton,” Semple said.

TWW announced in April that it would begin low-velocity flushing of water mains using specialized equipment throughout its 683-mile water distribution system. That activity was expected to continue through May.

“The goal of the low-velocity water main flushing is to mitigate conditions that promote the growth of pathogens, including Legionella, by increasing and sustaining chlorine residuals,” Semple said. “Once we achieve this water-treatment goal, we will execute additional action steps to improve water quality in the TWW system.”

Low-velocity water main flushing is a conventional water-industry method that uses specialized equipment attached to a fire hydrant to restrict the flow to such levels that the sediment within a water main is not disturbed or scoured. The procedure also allows for eliminating stagnant water and optimizing chlorine disinfection to minimize the conditions contributing to pathogens’ growth, such as Legionella, a type of bacterium found naturally in freshwater environments such as lakes and streams.

During the flushing program, servicearea residents should not have noticed any changes in their water, such as brown or discolored water. However, residents may notice a chlorine smell as TWW personnel work to increase chlorine levels in parts of the water distribution system.

TWW is working with New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection and Department of Health on Legionella mitigation. TWW provides weekly updates on this work every Friday at trentonwaterworks.org/Legionella.

TWW says it has expanded systemwide monitoring for Legionella via sampling locations approved by the NJDEP, including storage tanks, the water-filtration plant on Route 29 South in Trenton, and the 100 million-gallon Pennington Avenue Reservoir.

The Trenton Water Works Office of Communications and Community Relations has a phone number that customers can call with questions about Legionella mitigation. The number, (609) 989-3033, is open for calls Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.