Increased Water Main Issues Addressed By Madison Council

MADISON, NJ — Priorities for the Monday night meeting of the Madison Borough Council included a series of six water main breaks that have occurred recently throughout the borough.

In July and August, there were six water main breaks, according to engineer Bob Vogel. One was present at Staples Plaza on July 25, Delbarton Drive on July 26, and Central Avenue on July 30.

On August 17, 18, and 21, breaks were held on Belleau Avenue, Trail Place and Longview Avenue, respectively. All of the breaks were in old cast iron pipes, and "most" of the customers were locals.

"Irrigation demands on our system are always extraordinary during the summer. So June, July and August always are big water pumping months for our system, and as the system ages, there are a lot of fluctuations in terms of the system pressure and accidents happen. We had a lot of accidents this year," Vogel said.

Vogel claims that there are a few distinct causes for the breaks. First, the water operations staff believe that paving and milling crews are not being as cautious as they ought to be around hydrants and active valves, especially during shutoff times.

The second explanation is thought to be related to irrigation needs, which at this time of year put a strain on the water system.

According to Vogel, the third reason is simply due to the age of the system.

"We do have large-diameter cast-iron water mains throughout the system and we have had several decades of replacing water mains of small diameter... but now we have the large mains, which are still fairly old, but large-diameter mains and obviously a little more expensive to replace," Vogel said.

Variable Frequency Devices have been installed by the water department of the Borough to examine and possibly rule out any potential problems. For water systems, this is not an unusual problem, especially in times of drought like the current one.

"Madison is not alone in this," Vogel said. "There are lots of towns throughout the state that have had similar problems, and I believe nationwide also during droughts."

New Jersey has been under a Statewide Drought Emergency Watch since the beginning of August. Madison's water tanks are at their lowest levels of the year, and the town's pumps have had to work harder than ever to replenish water tanks, with pumps C and E seeing particular spikes in use, officials said.

For an immediate plan of action, the council introduced Ordinance 44-2022, allocating $150,000 from the Water Capital Improvement Fund to install pressure monitoring systems that record data and timing information, among other things.