For 5th Time This Year, East Windsor PD Station Flooded With Sewage, Feces: PBA

EAST WINDSOR, NJ – On Wednesday, officers and employees from the East Windsor Police Department had to walk out of the headquarters after sewer and fecal matter flooded the department, the East Windsor PBA 191 said.

According to the PBA, this was the fifth time such an incident took place at the building. Fecal matter that was backed up through toilets and drains flooded the department floor making work and housing prisoners a hazard.

“Employees and officers were faced with fecal backup in the entryway, hallways, Patrol, Investigative Services, and the women’s locker room. Our officers actually evacuated the building to avoid getting sick from the septic fumes,” the PBA said.

Even the holding cells were heavily affected, making it “inhumane” to house prisoners, the organization said. “We would never want to house a prisoner in these inhumane, unsanitary conditions, yet the township subjects its employees to them everyday," the PBA said.

They reported that Domestic Violence Victim Response Team (DVRT) Family Room was heavily contaminated as well.

“For clarification, the DVRT/Family Room is a safe space for victims of domestic violence and those seeking shelter. Unfortunately, this family room was the most contaminated area and the carpet was saturated in sewage,” the PBA said.

According to Township officials, the incident occurred due to a malfunction with the internal sewer system. As a result, sewer and fecal matter overflowed in the first and second floor of the police and court facility located on 80 One Mile Road.

“The Department of Public Works responded immediately, cleaned and sanitized the impacted areas. The sewer system was put on a manual operation, allowing the bathroom facilities to be used throughout the business day,” the township told Patch in a statement.

“Professionals in the plumbing and sewage system business also responded and investigated numerous potential causes of the malfunction, determining that a computer board that operates the pump switches had malfunctioned. The necessary parts were purchased and

the board was replaced, returning the system to fully functional.”

According to the township, similar malfunctions happed twice this year, but both were smaller overflows and had limited impact on the building.

“In both incidents, the Department of Public Works responded and cleaned and sanitized the impacted areas of the building,” the Township said. "Over the course of several days, the sewer lines were cleared of debris and the system was returned to being operational.”

The PBA 191 thanked the DPW employees for working tirelessly to keep the building safe.

“It’s not their fault that our township will not address the building’s long-documented plumbing issue,” the PBA said.

The organization urged the Township to permanently fix the issue, especially when officers are out on patrol and "enforcing the law to the fullest."

“We encourage the public to continue to utilize the services rendered by the township, however, we would be remiss if we did not first warn of this horrendous fecal odor that continues to plague our building,” The PBA said.

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