Full Notification

Here is more information on the letter you may have received regarding the water service lines to your homes. This is what we could not say in the letter that was required by the State of New Jersey!
 
The Borough of Ho-Ho-Kus Water Department along with your Mayor and Council, our administration, staff and team of qualified professionals have been working on this for the past three years and have identified and notified all the residents we know to have either lead or galvanized service lines to their homes via certified mail already.  While we have only identified less than 1% of all homes in the Borough that have lead service lines over the past three years, we are currently engaged in the development of a lead service line replacement program to identify and replace all lead and galvanized service lines in the Borough as required by the State by 2031. While we know that some lead and galvanized lines exist only in certain areas, we must confirm this Borough wide to ensure compliance. This process has begun and will continue until we have identified every single connection in the Borough. We are prioritizing the process based on the age of the homes on a given street and also based on current and future repaving projects to complete any replacements before the roads are resurfaced. Thought we also know that most of these materials have not been used in some cases in our Borough since the 1950’s (lead & galvanized) and copper with lead solder since 1989, we were required to send the letter until we complete the identification process. Along the way we will notify you if anything has to be done. If you already know you have a lead or galvanized line and are planning to replace it please call us to coordinate the replacement.
 
As the Borough was with our recently completed PFAS Water Treatment Plan, the Borough is out in front of this and is proactively seeking funding and grants that may be available to offset as much of the cost of this project as possible. We also promise to remain as open and transparent to our residents keeping you informed every step of the way.
Even with a small amount of affected pipe in the system, it is still a good practice to do the following;  

• Avoid using stagnant water (water that has not been used in 6 hours or more). By flushing stagnant water out of your pipes by letting your faucet run for 15 to 30 seconds before consuming or for use in cooking.
• Use only cold water for cooking or consuming. Warm water is more susceptible to leaching lead particles.
• Replace your lead service line. If your home or business has a lead service line, plan to replace it.  We ask you call us to coordinate this with us.               
• Look for alternative sources or treatment of water using a NSF approved filter and know when it’s time to replace the filter.
• Routinely clean your faucet’s aerator/screen.

• Once the work has been performed, Ho-Ho-Kus Water staff will fill in the hole that was dug and will level with topsoil. When seasonally appropriate, Ho-Ho-Kus Water will return to the property to seed, pave and or replace sidewalks as necessary in an effort to restore the right-of-way to its original condition, as best as possible.
• Homeowners or businesses who are found to have a lead service line will receive a certified letter from Ho-Ho-Kus Water informing them of the material type that was found. The letter also includes information on health effects of lead, sources of lead in drinking water, and steps to be taken to reduce exposure. 
• Should you have any additional questions, please contact Ho-Ho-Kus Borough Hall at (201) 652-4400 ext. 231 to speak with the Borough Administrator.