A $120M plan will fix Newark’s water. Here’s how long it’ll take, and who’s paying.

Newark to borrow $120 Million to replace lead pipes

Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo speaks. Governor Murphy, Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and other officials held a press conference to announce a partnership between Newark and Essex County to fund $120 Million to expedite the complete replacement of lead water pipes. Newark, NJ. Monday, August 26, 2019.David Gard | For NJ Advance Media

Newark will receive a $120 million loan to fix its water woes in less than three years, officials said Monday, responding to growing public pressure and national attention to the city’s ongoing lead water crisis.

Flanked by Gov. Phil Murphy, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and other officials, Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr. announced the county will issue bonds to more quickly eliminate the 18,000 old pipes causing lead to leach into the drinking supply.

Newark’s lead service lines, which connect individual homes to underground mains, will now be replaced in 24-30 months, instead of over a decade.

“This challenge was too important to ignore, and I am happy that Essex is able to help,” DiVincenzo said.

The money will speed up the timeline on Newark’s original $75 million plan, which was scheduled to take eight years and began in March. So far, more than 770 pipes have been replaced, according to the city.

“I don’t want to wait that long," DiVincenzo said. "I want this long-term solution to happen sooner rather than later.”

With the new county funds, Baraka said lead line replacement will be entirely free for homeowners. Under the original program, homeowners were on the hook for up to $1,000 each.

"With this new money, we’re anticipating that no one will have to pay anything to have their lead service lines replaced,” Baraka said. He added that the hundreds of homeowners who already had their lines replaced will not be billed for the work.

The Essex County Improvement Authority will issue bonds at no cost to county taxpayers. The Essex County Freeholders, the Newark City Council and the ECIA’s Board of Commissioners are all scheduled to vote on the bond ordinance Tuesday. If approved, the money will be available by fall.

Newark will pay the county $6.2 million annually for 30 years. Baraka, however, said Newark taxes will not increase to pay back the bond; he will seek state or federal funding to cover the debt.

U.S. Rep. Donald Payne Jr., D-10th Dist., said he’s consulted with U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee of Michigan, who represents Flint, to find federal funding for Newark.

“I’m not starting from scratch. I have a program that has worked," Payne said. "There were federal dollars that were allocated to Flint during this time, and I’m looking to recreate that for Newark.”

The $120 million bond will add to the$12 million the state already provided for the first phase of the program, bringing the total amount of committed funding to $132.2 million.

Newark to borrow $120 Million to replace lead pipes

Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo speaks. Governor Murphy, Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and other officials held a press conference to announce a partnership between Newark and Essex County to fund $120 Million to expedite the complete replacement of lead water pipes. Newark, NJ. Monday, August 26, 2019.David Gard | For NJ Advance Media

DiVincenzo said the bond program will be offered to Bloomfield, Belleville and Nutley, which buy Newark water.

Bloomfield Mayor Michael Venezia said the township was reviewing the deal as an option. The township has already been replacing lead service lines at no cost to property owners and recently took out a $1.1 million loan to continue that work.

Nutley Mayor Joseph Scarpelli said there are 91 known lead service lines there. The town has not reported elevated lead levels in the water but officials are only required to test every three years. Scarpelli said officials are putting cost estimates together.

Belleville Mayor Michael Melham called the county bond program “the first real solution I’ve heard in a month." Belleville has had elevated lead levels and 6,000 of its 8,800 service lines are made of lead. All of its water comes from Newark.

Melham expressed frustration with state and federal officials’ response to the crisis this month and asked residents be given filters for now.

“Belleville requires the same assistance you’re giving Newark,” he said. “I’m calling federal and state representatives to remind them that Belleville residents drink Newark water.”

Worry over lead in Newark’s water surged earlier this month, when the federal government requested that bottled water be distributed to city residents after questions were raised about the effectiveness of filters that had been handed out by the city. Baraka said bottled water hand-outs will continue at least until the problems with the filters have been figured out.

“Replacing the lead service lines is the only permanent way to address this issue,” Baraka said. He added that the city would replace the lines “as swiftly as humanly possible.”

Federal law mandates drinking water be treated to prevent the lead pipes from corroding and contaminating the water. That corrosion control treatment failed at Newark’s Pequannock treatment plant, putting residents at risk in the city’s South, West and parts of the North and Central wards.

A new method of corrosion control has been implemented at the Pequannock plant, but is expected to take months to work.

The rest of the city is served by the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission’s Wanaque treatment plant, where corrosion control has been working.

All Newark residents, regardless of which water plant serves them, are eligible to have their lead service lines replaced. Residents must first sign up with the city. A meeting will be held on Tuesday night in the rotunda of Newark City Hall at 6 p.m. for residents who want to learn more about the lead line replacement program.

Lead is particularly harmful to children and pregnant women and known to cause problems with cognition and behavior. Residents concerned about health exposure can call a 24-hour hotline established by the state at 1-866-448-2432. Assistance will be available in 150 languages.

Senate President Stephen Sweeney said Newark wasn’t the only city in dire need of infrastructure investment.

“We have problems with a lot of water systems. The state can’t look for the counties to do the job. So we are going to talk to the administration to see what we can come up with,” he said. “This is years of neglect of these water systems because no want wants to put money into them.”

On Saturday, Baraka and Murphy appeared on Al Sharpton’s show on MSNBC to assure the public they were moving quickly to address the problem and would hold anyone who dropped the ball accountable.

“Certainly, if somebody bungled something, they need to be held accountable,” Murphy said. He reiterated that there was no benefit to declaring a state of emergency because all their resources had not been exhausted.

This story was updated at 4:52 p.m. with more information from the City of Newark.

NJ Advance Media reporter Sue Livio contributed to this report.

Read more of NJ.com’s coverage of New Jersey water issues here.

Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook.

Michael Sol Warren may be reached at mwarren@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MSolDub. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Have a tip?Tell us. nj.com/tips.

Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.com’s newsletters.

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.