TWW Begins Water Storage and Distribution Improvements With the Demolition of Its Prospect St. Site

Trenton, N.J. - Trenton Water Works (TWW) will begin the demolition of two buildings at 942 Prospect Street near the 124-year-old Pennington Avenue Reservoir to prepare the site for constructing two 8-million-gallon concrete storage tanks in the spring of 2024.

"We've given the contractor the green light to remove any hazardous material and demolish the buildings on the site," said Mayor W. Reed Gusciora. "We anticipate that it will take three months for the site to be completely cleared and readied for the next phase of the water utility's storage and distribution system improvements project."

IBN Construction Corporation is undertaking the $520,000 hazardous material cleanup and demolition of the two 25,000 and 13,000 square-foot buildings on the 2-acre site, with technical guidance and project oversight from engineering firm Barton & Loguidice. The work, awarded through public bidding, will take approximately three months to complete.

Demolition and preparation of the site at 942 Prospect Street is Phase 1 of TWW's $44-million Storage and Distribution System Improvements Project launched in 2020. The project aims to decentralize and protect treated drinking water produced by the water-filtration plant on Route 29 South in Trenton, ultimately retire the open-air Pennington Avenue Reservoir, and improve system resiliency.

Recently, Trenton City Council approved a resolution for TWW to engage a consultant to assist in developing a comprehensive plan to strengthen the management of the 124-year-old reservoir. Scientists from Princeton Hydro, a Trenton-based engineering firm, work with TWW to achieve this goal.

The storage-and-distribution-system improvements are part of Trenton Water Works' six-year, $405 million capital plan to modernize the TWW system. This work includes the removal of lead infrastructure through TWW's Lead Service Line Replacement Program (LSLRP), which recently received a $5.3 million grant to replace lead services with safer copper lines in parts of South Trenton. Since the LSLRP's inception in 2019, TWW has removed nearly 10,000 lead services from its water distribution system and private homes in Trenton, Hamilton Township, Ewing Township, and Lawrence Township.

In recent years, TWW has completed several multimillion-dollar capital projects designed to improve system performance, resiliency, and water quality. These include replacing the water-filtration plant's 24 dual-media filters, chlorine contact basins, and raw-water intake, and upgrading the control system. In its water-distribution system, TWW has cleaned and lined water mains in Ewing and Hamilton Townships and is preparing to replace 1.5 miles of water main on Olden Avenue in Ewing Township.

Also, TWW is advancing its $20 million smart meter project, replacing thousands of 25-year-old meters with water meters that meter readers can read remotely. In addition to modernizing water meters, this work will help the water utility improve billing data collection and efficiency.

To maintain high chlorine levels in its water distribution to mitigate the growth of pathogens, including Legionella, TWW will install flushing devices systemwide in targeted areas over the next 12 months. These devices will flush water mains to improve water quality, a $1.2 million project. TWW is working with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to determine permanent locations for installing the flushers. Last October, Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora's administration signed a Unilateral Administrative Order with the NJDEP to assist the water utility with its work to improve water quality, advance capital projects, and increase operational performance.

"We are advancing our significant plans to improve water quality, undertake millions in capital work, improve operations, and train our dedicated workforce in order to benefit our customers and service-area residents and optimize the operation of one of America's oldest public water systems," added Mayor Gusciora.

Purchased by the City of Trenton in 1859, Trenton Water Works (TWW) is one of the oldest and largest publicly owned water systems in the United States. TWW supplies approximately 28 million gallons of water per day to a quarter-million consumers in a five-municipality service area comprised of Trenton, Ewing Township, parts of Hamilton Township, Lawrence Township, and Hopewell Township. TWW operates a 60-million-gallon water-filtration plant and water-distribution system that consists of a 100-million-gallon reservoir, 683 miles of water mains, three pump stations, nearly 8,000 valves, 3,517 fire hydrants, and six interconnections between TWW and other water suppliers. TWW serves approximately 63,000 metered customers.