By KATHARINA CAVINO
About a dozen residents of the Washington Avenue area of Avon attended this week’s Board of Commissioners meeting to again voice their concerns about discolored water flowing from their taps.
They brought mason jars filled with yellow water, white tee shirts stained yellow by the water in their washing machines, and two-month-old water filters that had turned completely brown from the water being piped into their homes.
Residents had one word for the chronic problem: “deplorable.”
The group of residents, represented by Jack Ryan of Wshington Avenue, demanded a long term solution to the problem.
“One of the things we’re considering doing is a cement lining on the pipes,” said Mayor Robert Mahon. “It’s almost as good as replacing the pipes…although it won’t help if the issue is the water itself.”
The issue remains that the water being piped into the town by NJ American Water has chloramines in it –an agent to purify the water – which are reacting with ‘something’ in the pipes and in turn causing the water to discolor, officials said. Though there is no issue with the water when it’s coming from the borough supply and local aquifer, the borough must pipe in water for six months of the year from NJ American Water or risk drying up the aquifer that they draw from.
Despite the temporary solution of keeping water constantly running through the hydrants in town, the fix is sporadic at best. Residents remain frustrated at the prospect of more discolored water until the spring when the borough switches to the aquifer water. According to Borough Administrator Tim Gallagher, there’s $350,000 from the water/sewer budget from last year that can be allocated to alleviating this issue – by either lining or replacing the pipes – possibly by October when the borough must switch back to NJ American water supply
The Board of Commissioners also approved the appointment of Eleanor Mahon to the Library Board of Trustees for a five-year term, as well as awarded the construction of the Marina elevator to Accredited Elevator of NJ. The borough will pay $69,975 for the elevator with a grant they received, and plans for the elevator will be approved by the end of next week.
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