Trenton, NJ — Trenton Water Works received a $433,044 grant from the New Jersey Bureau of Public Utilities (BPU) to help fund a $1-million water loss project to pinpoint leaks in its 200-year-old system, one of the largest in the United States.
"Although TWW tracks the annual volumes of water it draws from the Delaware River, including the finished drinking water product that we produce, we want to be proactive in our efforts to identify and repair leaks in our system," said Mark A. Lavenberg, Director of the city's Department of Water and Sewer, which operates Trenton Water Works.
TWW’s water loss project will utilize acoustic leak detection technology—sensors placed strategically throughout the TWW system—to detect and repair leaks in its expansive 683-mile water distribution system. Team members in TWW's engineering unit, responsible for overseeing the utility's water-distribution system, secured the grant. This system includes the 100-million-gallon Pennington Avenue Reservoir, 683 miles of various-sized water mains, 3,517 fire hydrants, nearly 8,000 valves, six interconnections with other water purveyors, storage tanks, and three pump stations.
"Thank you to Noemi de la Puente and Rick Warren of our engineering unit, whose hard work and commitment helped secure the BPU grant that we will leverage with other resources to implement an effective program to prevent water loss," added Lavenberg. "With the help of our capable team, including water-distribution technician Tim London and W-4 licensed operator Edmund Johnson, our imperative is to be proactive, not reactive, in detecting and repairing leaks in our system."
Purchased by the City of Trenton in 1859, Trenton Water Works (TWW) is one of the oldest and largest publicly owned water systems in the United States, supplying 28 million gallons of water per day to approximately a quarter-million consumers in a five-municipality service area in Mercer County, NJ: Trenton, parts of Hamilton Township, Ewing Township, Lawrence Township, and Hopewell Township. TWW operates a 60-million-gallon water-filtration plant and water-distribution system that includes a 100-million-gallon reservoir, 683 miles of water mains, three pump stations, nearly 8,000 valves, 3,517 fire hydrants, and six interconnections between TWW and other water suppliers. TWW has approximately 63,000 metered customers.
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