In Lower Township Many Want MUA Water, Few Connect

VILLAS — Residents have been asking for municipal water on their streets here for more than 20 years but when it becomes available, few actually connect.
A total of 365 homeowners have not connected to the Lower Township Municipal Utilities Authority (MUA) system despite water mains having been available in their street dating back to the early part of this decade.
Lower Township Council passed a mandatory water connection ordinance in 2009 and MUA passed a similar resolution.
“When they passed that, these people had one year to come in and make payment and then one year to connect,” said MUA Executive Director Mike DeMarcantonio.
Out of 365 properties, 284 that have either made partial payments or paid in full but still have not connected their homes to the water system.
“We only have seven people that have connected,” he said. “What they did is stave off the lien on their house.”
A total of 81 property owners ignored the MUA completely, said DeMarcantonio.
“We need to get those people connected and that will help defray some of the costs and keep rates down,” he said.
Liens have been sent to the 81 property owners. The township sells the liens at a public sale. Property owners must pay off the lien before they can sell their home.
Those who have not connected to the water system will start receiving quarterly water bills beginning next month, said DeMarcantonio.
A project completed in May placed water mains on Florida, Jacksonville and Hudson avenues and Peters Street. It had a cost of $766,000 which made water available to 158 new customers. Of that, 38 have applied for water and only 10 have connected.
DeMarcantonio said MUA needed customers to connect so it began generating revenue on a quarterly basis. The property owners in that area have until May 3, 2011 to make application and connect.
If those customers are not physically connected to the water system by that date, they will still begin receiving a quarterly water bill and receive a lien on their home for the connection fee of $1,600. They also need to hire a plumber to run a water line from the meter at the curb into their house, said DeMarcantonio.
At the Aug. 16 Lower Township Council meeting at Township at 7 p.m., Jerry Keelen of the state Housing and Mortgage Financing Agency (HMFA) will explain how homeowners can receive a loan to connect that has no interest charge but just a 1 percent annual service fee. DeMarcantonio said the loan will cover MUA’s connection fee, the cost for a plumber to connect a home to the water line and cost of disconnecting a well and treatment system.
All residential homes are covered even second homes and rental properties. There is no maximum or minimum income qualifications and personal savings account, annuities and other assets are not considered in the loan process.
The maximum amount of the loan is $10,000 for water connections. There is a 10-year maximum term. If the loan is less than $3,000 one payment per year will be due. Two semi-annual payments will be due on loans more than $3,000.
Single family residences whose drinking water comes from a well and violates the state drinking water standards set by state Department of Environmental Protection for sodium, chloride, iron, lead, mercury, manganese and primary contaminants are eligible.
“It’s like a second mortgage but you don’t have to qualify in any way, shape or form,” said DeMarcantonio. “HMFA is there to help people get good potable water, it’s a safety issue and health factor, they are there to fund these projects.”
For more information, call: 1-800-NJ-HOUSE or see the website: http://www.state.nj.us/dca/hmfa/consu/owners/water/