Important Update – Brooklawn Water System

Dear Brooklawn Residents,

We want to thank everyone for their continued support as we work through our water supply concerns. We will be providing these updates through email, our website and through Facebook updates. Please read through to the end of this message for details of a public roundtable session for next week March 26th at 5pm.  The following message will cover the important updates, dates, deadlines as well as any other relevant information that may be beneficial to help residents make informed decisions. Lastly, some of this information will be repetitive due to timelines and items that are works in progress:

Water System Upgrade and Timelines – 

  • Receive Contractor Bids –  April 4, 2024.
  • Anticipated review of bids by USDA – Within two weeks or by April 18.
  • The award by the Governing Body would then be May 20, 2024, but we will have a special meeting to authorize sooner, if all bids meet state requirements.
  • At the time of the award, there will be a shop drawing review and approval for the equipment to be ordered.
  • If all steps above are met – the time for the delivery of the equipment is 7 months or by December 2024. (It’s during this time we are going to apply any and all political pressure for increase speed of production, delivery and install)
  • During the equipment fabrication period, the contractor will be expected to construct all of the piping to feed the new equipment, the new equipment foundations, and all of the other related work so that the filtration system can be installed quickly after it arrives.
  • Upon delivery of the equipment, the only work that remains will be assembly, loading of the carbon and disinfection of the new system and tanks. This should take all of December and part of January 2025. The equipment could be ready to go online by the end of January or early February 2025.

Update on temporary solution – 

  • The Borough has also researched the viability of installing a temporary filtration plant. The cost of this endeavor will be between $300,000 to $600,000. The earliest we can get it up and running is within 3 to 4 months. 
  • Quotes are coming in and we are looking at timelines of installation, product availability, and funding to help with this endeavor. 
  • Emails and phone calls have been sent to NJDEP, Legal and Regulatory affairs as of this week and USEPA Department of Grants and Funding for Emerging Contaminants for Small or Disadvantaged Communities Grant Program.
  • These emails and calls are an attempt to secure funding for short-term and long-term solutions.

Current Water Sampling

  • Please find the updated PFNA statistics for this quarter 13 ppb. Please note we are on the same line as the MCL (MAXIMUM CONTAMINANT LEVEL) of 13PPB.  However, our overall average is still above the MCL.  Please feel free to reach out to Mike Ostrom if any other information is needed. 

13 + 12.5 + 9.1 + 42 / 4 = 19.15 ppb

  • Next water test will be conducted on April 1st – results will not be made available to Brooklawn until mid to late April.  If we are below 17.5ppb on the next test, we will be below the MCL.

Community Assistance for Water – 

  • We would like to recognize some of our community members, including Jennifer Drummonds, who have been working with local businesses and community members to collect donations of water for those in need. They will be giving out more details about when and where they can pick up water once the plans are all worked out.
  • The Borough of Brooklawn is supportive of these efforts and is working with NJ DEP and US EPA for funding for larger scale solutions as mentioned above.

Possible Sale of Water – 

  • As discussed during our last Council Meeting, some residents expressed their concerns for keeping vs. selling the Water Processed and Sewer System. Brooklawn Borough is working on putting this decision in the hands of the people of the town. We aim to provide resources and encourage you to do your own research to make the most informed decisions regarding this matter. 

As we mentioned at the end of the meeting, we are proud to support a community of people that care so much about the town. We are looking forward to resolving this in a timely manner so we can continue to develop and flourish as a small town with a powerful community. 

Since a resident inquired about more transparency at the last meeting, we are going to try something different. The borough administrator, Ryan Giles, and a council member will be hosting a roundtable event on Tuesday, March 26th at 5pm until 7pm at Borough Hall 301 Christiana St. This will be an opportunity to sit with Ryan and ask any questions about finance, construction, redevelopment, tax rates, duties of the government, budget, surplus, duties of the municipal clerk, shared services, DPW, issues you may have about the town, and other general inquiries. If no questions arise, Ryan will discuss the budget document. Water will not be a discussion topic unless it relates to finance, but we will continue to provide updates as described above. This is an informational platform and therefore all participants should be respectful and kind. We hope to see people come to get accurate information from the borough and not rely on hearsay on social media.

**This email is being sent for informational purposes. Please do not reply to this email, but feel free to contact the Borough Administrator Ryan Giles at boroclerk@brooklawn-nj.com or Superintendent of Public Works Michael Ostrom at Mostrom@brooklawn-nj.com