Trenton Water Works is issuing advisories to limit water use

On By Littum

Trenton Water Works is asking customers to limit the use of water while water filtration systems are taken offline.

The utility advised customers to use water “only for essential purposes or emergencies, such as firefighting.”

“We are taking this action because ice build-up in the Delaware River, TWW’s raw water source, has affected our water filtration plant operations on Route 29 South in Trenton,” said Michael Walker, TWW’s director of communications and public outreach. “The facility is offline and we are relying on the Pennington Avenue Reservoir and an emergency connection with New Jersey American Water that we have activated.”

“The water is safe to drink and of high quality,” TWW said in a press release sent late Wednesday night.

The agency said it would monitor conditions on the Delaware River so it could return water filtration and treatment operations to normal as soon as possible.

Walker told The Trentonian that Frazil ice accumulation is causing problems with the intake along the river, which plant operators are having trouble clearing to allow the intake to flow freely.

Frazil ice is small ice crystals that can form in moving bodies of water and collect on fixtures or objects causing solid obstructions.

Walker said this isn’t the first time ice has caused problems for the TWW water filtration plant, although it doesn’t happen every time the river freezes over.

An article on ScienceDirect.com about frazil ice notes that “blockage occurs when active frazil ice particles build up on the upstream side of the individual bars of an intake debris rack and eventually form bridges from one bar to the next.”

“Under the Limit-Water-Use Advisory, customers should see no changes to their faucets and fire districts throughout the system are unaffected, but will be advised Wednesday evening of the status of the TWW system.”

Customers and residents in the service area with questions about the Limit-Water-Use Advisory can call TWW’s Office of Communications and Public Outreach at (609) 989-3033. Working hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday.

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