Salem City has finalized the sale of its water supply to New Jersey American Water

In fewer than six years, water companies across New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware have acquired more than two dozen water and sewer systems, as officials in small cities and towns struggle to fund the cost of repairing aging infrastructure and removing toxic PFAS chemicals.

McDonough said New Jersey American Water’s top priority in Salem is to address PFAS by installing a filtration system within 18 months. In 2023, the so-called “forever chemicals” were detected above state standards in one of Salem’s wells, which has since been shut down.

However, some Salem residents fear their water bills may increase in a city where the median annual household income is $26,000. Several states allow investor-owned utilities to consider the future value of a utility, pay above that price and then pass along those costs to consumers.

McDonough said there will be a two-year freeze on rate increases in Salem, and the company offers assistance to people struggling to pay their bills.

“Because we’re a large water operator statewide, we share the costs of capital across our entire footprint, and then, of course, our commercial customers on top of that,” he said. “So, we socialize those costs so that everybody’s bills are more affordable.”