Rates would gradually increase by about $16 a year after five years. Any other rate increase would require approval from New Jersey’s Board of Public Utilities. New Jersey American Water would offer senior discounts, and assist customers struggling to pay their bills, McDonough said.

Still, some residents say they’re skeptical, and are encouraging neighbors to vote against the sale by handing out flyers outside the local ShopRite and assembling yard signs throughout town. Meanwhile, American Water has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on canvassing efforts, and advertisements.

Resident Dena Hendry said she doesn’t believe American Water won’t pass sale costs down to Gloucester Township residents.

“It’s money that I’d rather spend making memories, and doing things with my family. It’s an unnecessary cost,” she said. “And, everything is going up. The price of groceries is going up.”

Those who oppose the sale argue the town’s sewer system doesn’t need saving. Unlike other small towns that sold their water systems because of failures or contaminated drinking water, Gloucester Township’s sewer system is in decent shape, according to a 2023 engineering report.

Residents voice distrust in local leaders

Residents have become suspicious about the motivations behind the sale, as their mayor, David Mayer, is the director of government affairs for New Jersey American Water. Mayer has recused himself from the acquisition, however, and McDonough said the mayor has never been involved in any conversation about privatizing the town’s sewer system.

Residents also accuse township officials of being fiscally irresponsible, and say they don’t trust them to spend the proceeds wisely.

Gloucester Township’s business administrator, Tom Cardis, said the town’s debt was accrued because of necessary expenditures for road repairs, law enforcement and other infrastructure projects.

Cardis said not only would the sale pay off the debt, but it would also help the town reduce property taxes, and pay for improved recreational opportunities for residents.

“The proceeds of the sale are going towards helping the community at large,” he said. “It’s reducing taxes, and stabilizing taxes.”

If the referendum fails, the city may raise the sewer bills, Cardis said. The town’s utilities authority, which was dissolved last year, also had not raised rates since 2002. Though the sewer system isn’t currently failing, its future maintenance would require a significant investment, Cardis said.

Residents campaigning against the sale say they understand rates may rise if the referendum fails, but believe residents will have greater say in how the sewer system is operated.

“If our bills do [increase] there’s not a darn thing anybody can do about it,” Denise Coyne said about privatization. “It’s not like we could go purchase our sewer back. It’s gone forever.”

SOMERVILLE, N.J. — A boil water advisory has been lifted in part of Somerset County following a water main break earlier this week.

New Jersey American Water customers in Bridgewater, Raritan Borough and Somerville no longer have to boil their tap water before using it, the utility announced Friday.

The utility says testing shows the water quality is safe.

Water main break in Somerville causes outage

On Wednesday morning, a 36-inch water main break on Route 206 in Somerville caused a loss of pressure in the area and a boil water advisory was issued, New Jersey American Water said.

Some parts of the borough lost service entirely for a period of time, forcing some schools and businesses to close.

Friday morning, crews replaced the section of the water main impacted by the break, according to New Jersey American Water.

The same water main broke back on June 30, 2023. Residents in Bridgewater, Raritan Borough and Somerville were under a boil water advisory after that break, too, and some businesses had to close.

“It’s frustrating because this is the second time within a year that this has happened. Last time, we were closed for a day and a half,” the owner of a Somerville pizzeria said Thursday.

The restaurant owner said they lost money by closing up shop, and even though they were allowed to reopen with restrictions while the boil water advisory was ongoing, they had to spend hundreds of dollars on bottled drinks and ice.

In a statement, New Jersey American Water said they are working on a permanent solution to replace the main, with a 30-inch bypass main scheduled to begin construction in early 2025.

The following is a list of all top lists articles in these New Jersey counties published from Oct. 21 to Oct. 27.

NJ.com publishes weekly reports on recent real estate sales across the Garden State, as well as top sales by county and other real estate news, from unique homes for sale to trends.

10 most expensive homes sold in Atlantic County, Oct. 21-27

10 most expensive homes sold in Burlington County, Oct. 21-27

10 most expensive homes sold in Camden County, Oct. 21-27

10 most expensive homes sold in Cape May County, Oct. 14-27

10 most expensive homes sold in Cumberland County, Oct. 21-27

10 most expensive homes sold in Essex County, Oct. 21-27

10 most expensive homes sold in Gloucester County, Oct. 21-27

10 most expensive homes sold in Mercer County, Oct. 21-27

10 most expensive homes sold in Middlesex County, Oct. 21-27

10 most expensive homes sold in Monmouth County, Oct. 21-27

10 most expensive homes sold in Morris County, Oct. 21-27

10 most expensive homes sold in Ocean County, Oct. 21-27

10 most expensive homes sold in Passaic County, Oct. 21-27

10 most expensive homes sold in Salem County, Oct. 21-27

10 most expensive homes sold in Somerset County, Oct. 21-27

10 most expensive homes sold in Sussex County, Oct. 21-27

10 most expensive homes sold in Union County, Oct. 21-27

10 most expensive homes sold in Warren County, Oct. 21-27

Real Estate Newswire is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to generate analysis of data from Propmix, an aggregator of national real-estate data.