Full Notification

At a special meeting on November 21, the Hawthorne Borough Council awarded a contract to Pact Two, LLC, to install a treatment system to remove Perfluoroctanoic acid (PFOA) and Perfluoroctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), collectively referred to as “PFAS,” from water supplied to Hawthorne Water customers. This $5,320,000 contract is in addition to the $1,017,000 previously approved for Boswell Engineering for design and inspection services for the project.  Based on the lead times for the required equipment, this project is not expected to be completed before late 2023. Pact Two LLC has completed construction on a number water treatment and wastewater treatment systems in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and is currently installing a PFAs treatment system for Ridgewood Water. This PFAS removal project is required by New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection regulations that went into effect in 2021.
 
At the November 21^st meeting, the Council also introduced Ordinance 2302-22 to raise fees by 13%for  water use by Hawthorne water system customers in 2023, and then another 13% in 2024. These increases are just the first steps to raise the money necessary to generate sufficient revenue for the water utility for pay debt service and operating costs for PFAS treatment as well as for replacement of galvanized water service lines, another new State of New Jersey requirement. A public hearing on this ordinance will be held at the regular Council meeting at 7:00 p.m. on December 21^st prior to a vote on adoption. Further rate increases in 2025 will be necessary to cover the full cost of these mandated projects.