NEW JERSEY AMERICAN WATER CELEBRATES COMPLETION OF $37 MILLION FLOOD PROTECTION PROJECT AT THE RARITAN-MILLSTONE WATER TREATMENT PLANT

On Monday, New Jersey American Water celebrated the completion of a significant, long-term flood protection project at its Raritan-Millstone Water Treatment Plant with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on the grounds of the plant located at the confluence of the Raritan and Millstone Rivers. The $37 million project is part of a greater $65 million investment to help ensure protection from the increased risk of flooding during extreme weather events and maintain a sustainable water supply for more than 1 million people in the central New Jersey region. 

"Today is the result of countless hours of planning and 18 months of construction made possible by hundreds of professionals who came together to make our vision of protecting this facility a reality," said Deborah Degillio, President of New Jersey American Water. "We have fortified this critical infrastructure in order to provide clean, safe, reliable water service – not only to our customers in Central New Jersey who rely on us every day, but also to the millions of residents throughout the State whom we help during emergency situations." 

The Raritan-Millstone Water Treatment Plant, in Bridgewater Township, Somerset County, NJ, is New Jersey American Water's largest water production facility and a regional source of potable water supply for all or parts of seven counties in central New Jersey. As a Tier 1 New Jersey Office of Homeland Security & Preparedness facility, the Raritan-Millstone facility is also considered "critical infrastructure" by the federal Department of Homeland Security.  

The project was funded with approximately $27.2 million in loans from the NJ Water Bank, a joint low-rate funding program of the DEP and the NJ I-Bank. This project qualified for the maximum amount of principal forgiveness, totaling $2,121,919 as it addressed damage from previous storms and improved resilience for future storms. Including interest cost savings, total savings for this project is estimated to be $14.8 million over the 30-year term of the loan or 55% of the total project cost.