Full Notification

As you’ve most likely seen in person or on the news, Hoboken has experienced a substantial increase in water main breaks over the past several weeks. This is a major quality of life issue for our City, and one that we've begun addressing from the early months of my administration. 
 
Yesterday, at my request, the Hoboken City Council authorized my administration to begin seeking new proposals for a new administrator of our water main system.  It is abundantly clear that the current contract with SUEZ (our current water main administrator), negotiated over twenty years ago by a previous administration, is unacceptable to our City.  As you may know, the current contract with SUEZ provides no funding to replace watermains, and only a limited amount to repair broken watermains.  Over the next several months, the City will now consider a new water main administrator and new contract with more substantial investments in replacing outdated watermains on a yearly basis, not just when water main breaks occur.  
 
Improving Hoboken's infrastructure is a priority of my administration, and it starts with our century old watermain system.  While we've begun making millions of dollars of investments over the past couple years in our watermains, it is clear that more needs to be done. Below is a brief recap of the work we've begun on our water main infrastructure, and why its important to have a new contract.
 
What has Hoboken been doing to address and invest in water main infrastructure?
 
In the past two years, Hoboken has invested millions in water main upgrades.
 
1.    In the 2018 budget for the City of Hoboken, my administration included $5 million in proactive watermain upgrades and replacement, after former Mayor Dawn Zimmer allocated the same amount in 2017. This funding will allow for the replacement of 2.5 miles of water mains.
2.    Thanks to the Washington Street Project, Hoboken invested over $7 million to replace the century year old water mains along our main street.
3.    City professionals have identified 67 priority areas where water mains are older and more prone to breaks. This framework will allow the City to efficiently target and replace the most vulnerable water mains.
 
Over the next three budget cycles, I am committed to including multi-million dollar investments for funding water main upgrades, which would replace several miles of outdated watermains throughout the City.
 
 
Why is it important to have a new contract?
 
The contract which placed SUEZ (formerly United Water) as Hoboken’s water main operator was agreed upon by a prior administration over two decades ago in 1994.  Unfortunately, this contract provided a large sum of money up front to plug previous budget shortfalls and not nearly enough in proactive water main upgrades on a yearly basis.  According to the contract, only $350,000 is allocated for water main repairs, which doesn’t even cover the cost of emergency repairs, let alone any proactive water main replacement.  Quite simply, this contract is unacceptable to the residents of Hoboken, and we are now looking for a new contract that provides the necessary upgrades to our system in the immediate future. 
 
Thank you to City Council for agreeing to put politics aside and work with my administration to protect our water infrastructure. Thank you also to the Hoboken Police Department, Fire Department and Office of Emergency Management for assisting with repair the recent broken water mains, and most of all, the residents of Hoboken for your patience. 
 
I’m committed to addressing this issue head on in the coming months, and look forward to staying in touch on our progress.
 
Thank you,
 
Ravi