Clean-up Continues At PVWC New Street Reservoir

CLIFTON, N.J., Sept. 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- When remnants of Hurricane Ida swept through the area, it caused torrential rainfall to overflow the banks and contaminate the New Street Reservoir. Water from the reservoir, which supplies Clifton, Passaic, Paterson and Woodland Park could no longer be used, causing a Boil Water Advisory to be issued in accordance with NJ Department of Environmental Protection regulations (NJ DEP).

In the weeks since the hurricane, Passaic Valley Water Commission (PVWC) has been working diligently to bring the reservoir back to the high-quality water standards that existed prior to the hurricane. Massive pumps have been used to bring in millions-of-gallons of clean water while contaminated water was removed from the reservoir.

Once the reservoir is brought back to satisfactory levels, the next step in the process is to clean all the water pipes in the area, by flushing out an estimated 4,000 water hydrants. This process will run 24-hours a day and could take another 10 to 14 days to complete. PVWC is adding extra crews to try to finish the flushing more quickly.

PVWC warns that customers may experience unavoidable discoloration or low pressure during the flushing process. Customers that see water discoloration should open the cold-water faucet and allow the water to run for a minute or two until it clears.

After the water pipes have all been flushed, PVWC will conduct required testing to ensure the water is clean and meets all safe drinking water standards. When NJ DEP authorizes the ending of the Boil Water Advisory, PVWC will notify its customers.

PVWC thanks its customers for their patience and understanding during this situation and remains committed to replacing the open finished water reservoirs with enclosed water storage tanks to prevent this from happening again.

In the meantime, consumers are urged to visit www.PVWC.com/Alerts for additional information and to sign-up for emergency notifications via voice, text and/or email.

PVWC is New Jersey's largest public drinking water provider serving over 800,000 consumers in Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris and Passaic counties. 

For more information about this release please contact Lendel Jones at 609-332-4821 or [email protected]

SOURCE Passaic Valley Water Commission