COURT HOUSE – At a Sept. 20 meeting of Middle Township Committee, Mayor Timothy Donohue explained a recent delay in the proposed schedule for the project to bring fresh water to Del Haven and surrounding areas of the municipalities.
The project is being managed by the Lower Township Municipal Utilities Authority (LTMUA). The water distribution system would benefit over 1,000 homes in an area of the municipality that has seen increasing intrusion into the wells that currently support the homes.
Last year, the municipality adopted an ordinance that mandated connection to the new water distribution mains as the only way to finance the estimated $6 million project. Bids, in this era of Covid-related supply chain disruption, came in well over that estimate. The construction bid the LTMUA is preparing to authorize is $9.9 million.
At the Sept. 20 meeting, the municipality adopted a resolution amending the agreement with the LTMUA reflecting the new costs. This will impact the quarterly charges to the municipal residents who must connect to the new distribution system, but Donohue said the expected increase in the user rate quarterly charge is $6.56, increasing the rate from $168.44 to $175.00.
