New Jersey American Water wants to replace 2,000 lead or galvanized pipes throughout Maplewood, beginning in April, and to conduct tests on 3,000 with unknown composition to determine if they, too, must be removed. The process will take through the end of the year and could extend into 2026.
“It’s a very big endeavor,” said Maplewood Township Administrator Patrick Wherry during the Township Committee meeting on Tuesday, March 18. “We just found out about it last week.”
Watch the discussion about the lead service line replacement program here, beginning at the 1:20 mark and ending at the 1:35:20 mark.
NJAW will bring in four crews to work in different parts of town, Wherry said, working on one block at a time. Each crew comes with a significant amount of equipment — trucks, a backhoe, and an excavator — and the construction will require road closures. The more emergent work will be done on a separate contract from planned work done around Maplewood’s road-paving schedule.
“The benefit is that they could be done with all of this by the end of the year,” Wherry said, but the work could stretch out longer if more pipes turn out to contain lead, he said.
A public meeting will be held on April 2 at 7:30 p.m. People can attend either in person at Maplewood Town Hall, 574 Valley Street, or virtually, Wherry said. More information about NJAW’s plan to move water meters curbside will also be presented at that meeting, he said.
Additionally, he said, “We have started to work with NJAW’s communications team to get information out to the public” and residents will receive notifications both from NJAW and the township about the work [see a March 21 press release below]. NJAW will also visit each affected home to drop off information about the lead line replacement program. Notices will be distributed in multiple languages, Wherry said, and NJAW is partnering with the township to ensure that every resident receives notices that they can understand. Residents will receive at least one week’s notice about a crew working in their area.
The testing program will not affect water service in affected homes, Wherry said, in response to a question from Maplewood Mayor Nancy Adams. But in the event that pipes are found to contain lead, “there will be continued contact” with the residents to alert them about the removal process, which will affect their water service and require them to flush the lines after replacement occurs and to follow certain protocols once the lines are replaced.
Township Committee member Deb Engel asked if information about the health risks associated with lead water pipes could also be distributed, because such information has not previously been included with NJAW’s line replacement plan in Maplewood.
Wherry said that residents could check their addresses on NJAW’s website to determine whether their property-side and curb-side lines were known to be lead, not lead, or unknown. Residents can also follow simple instructions on the website to self-identify and self-report lead pipes to NJAW, he said.
Additionally, Wherry said, when lines are replaced, federal law mandates that NJAW send a photo to residents of the replaced line. Maplewood was the first town in New Jersey to benefit from this program, he said.
Township Committee member Vic De Luca asked if only residential addresses were affected, and Wherry said no, “This is everybody.” De Luca then suggested letting the two business districts reach out to their members as well.
“This is massive and is going to go on for months, until next year, possibly” said Township Committee member Dean Dafis. “I have reservations” about the planning process, he added, asking if a map existed of the affected areas. Wherry said that NJAW “haven’t developed that yet, but that was a conversation the [township] engineer and I had with NJAW.” Wherry said that he hoped “both the benefit and impact would be spread throughout town.”
“We want to do everything we can to advocate for our residents and to make sure this is done with as little impact as we can,” Wherry said.
From Maplewood Township on March 21, 2025:
MAPLEWOOD TOWNSHIP PUBLIC NOTICE
COMMUNITY MEETING ON 2025 NEW JERSEY AMERICAN WATER LEAD SERVICE LINE REPLACEMENT PROGRAM
On April 2nd, 2025, New Jersey American Water (NJAW) and Maplewood Township will hold a community meeting to discuss NJAW’s 2025 lead service line replacement program. The meeting will be held at Maplewood Town Hall at 7:30 p.m., and residents can attend live or via Zoom (details below). The meeting will also be recorded and made available to residents.
First things first: Customers can still use their water as they normally would, as the water provided by NJAW continues to meet state and federal water quality standards, including those set for lead.
About the forthcoming meeting: In July 2021, the state of New Jersey enacted legislation that requires utility companies to replace utility-owned and customer-owned lead and galvanized service lines by 2031. In previous years, NJAW scheduled the replacement of lead and galvanized service lines in Maplewood at a rate that would meet the 2031 deadline. NJAW now wants to dramatically increase the pace of service line replacements and complete all of the necessary work within the next year – which means residents will see an increase in NJAW’s work around town.
In light of this, NJAW has coordinated with the Township to hold a Community Meeting to discuss the replacement program and answer resident questions. They are aware that this work requires robust communications with residents who may be impacted by the work associated with service line material identification, service line replacement, and overall construction activity. The Township will work with NJAW to ensure residents receive necessary communications before, during, and after the lead service line replacement program. To learn more about the program, including to find out if your service line is made of lead, please visit www.newjerseyamwater.com/
In anticipation of the expected increase of their work around town, NJAW is strongly encouraging customers to update their contact preferences and opt-in for service-related notifications from New Jersey American Water at www.amwater.com/mywater. Customers can decide how they are notified – via phone, email or text – and can add up to three phone numbers and three email addresses.
Meanwhile, we welcome anyone who has initial questions to attend this joint meeting with NJAW and Maplewood Township, whether attending live or via Zoom.
COMMUNITY MEETING DETAILS:
April 2, 2025
7:30 pm
Maplewood Town Hall, 574 Valley Street
Join Via Zoom:
Join from PC, Mac, iPad, or Android:
https://twp-maplewood-nj-us.
Passcode:372589
Phone one-tap:
+19292056099,,89984252017#
Join via audio:
(929) 205-6099
Webinar ID: 899 8425 2017
