Prospect Park Residents Urged to Participate in Lead Service Line Replacement Program

Passaic Valley Water Commission (PVWC) and the Borough of Prospect Park are working together to remove all lead service lines from the municipality. Following the water crises in Flint, MI and Newark, NJ Mayor Khairullah, his administration, and Council fully support getting the lead out of Prospect Park because lead is a public health and safety issue.

The Lead Service Line Replacement program will remove and replace approximately 180 lead service lines in Prospect Park and will also investigate another 75 homes with unknown material. Under a $36 million program funded by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), Passaic Valley Water Commission will begin replacing lead lines this September at no cost to homeowners. PVWC will remove and replace 6,500 lead service lines throughout Clifton, Passaic, Paterson and Prospect Park.

“As we all know, lead is bad,” said Jim Mueller, the commission’s executive director. “Any exposure to lead is not considered safe.”

Prospect Park Mayor Mohamed T. Khairullah recently met with Mueller and his staff to discuss the process of removing and replacing lead service lines, which will be done by CDM Smith overseeing the project and Pacific Construction doing the work. The main topics of discussion were public health and safety and cooperation from residents of Prospect Park.

“Residents of Prospect Park should know that removing lead lines from the Borough is a matter of public health and safety and comes at no cost to our residents…replacing lead lines in your home can normally cost upwards of $10,000,” said Mayor Khairullah. Lead is especially dangerous if pregnant women and children are exposed to it.

Mayor Khairullah urges residents open their doors and allow inspectors into their home to identify what type of material their pipes are made of. “Inspectors will be wearing ID badges with their names and photos on them, as well has hats and vests to identify them as part of the lead line replacement program. Please cooperate with the inspectors when they knock on your door. If you are not home, they will leave door hangers so that you can call and schedule a later appointment.”

Residents with questions can call Passaic Valley Water Commission’s customer service department at 973-340-4300 or visit https://www.pvwc.com/LeadLookUp/