General:
The Authority, a public body corporate and politic of the state of New Jersey, was created by virtue of an ordinance duly adopted on June 22, 1962 by the Township Council of the Township of Washington.  The Authority was created for the purpose of construction and operating a sanitary sewerage system for the proper collection and disposal of certain sanitary sewerage and other wastes arising within the Township of Washington and a water distribution system within the Township of Washington.

The Authority has broad powers including, among others, the following: to hold, operate and administer its property, to provide for bonds and the secure the payment and rights of holders thereof, to charge and collect user charges for the use of its facilities and to revise such user charges to ensure that revenues of the Authority will at times be adequate to pay all operating and maintenance expenses including reserves, insurance, extensions and replacements, and to pay the principal of and interest on any bonds and to maintain such reserves or sinking funds that may be required by the terms of any contract of the Authority; and to make and enforce rules and regulations of the management of its business and affairs.

The Authority's address is 152 Whitman Drive, Turnersville, NJ 08012 and its telephone number is (856) 227-7788. Beginning February 1, 2010 the new billing office hours are Monday-Thursday 8am-5pm.

Management:
The governing body of the Authority consists of five members and two alternates of whom are appointed for five year terms on a staggered basis by the Township Council of the Township.  The present Commissioners, their office on the Authority's board and the expiration dates of their terms as Commissioners are as follows:

The Authority currently employs 30 full-time personnel.

Description of the Water and Sewer Systems:
The Authority has approximately 181 miles of water and 173 miles of sewer mains.  The Authority delivers water to its customers and acts as a sewerage collection agent within the Township.  Sewage is treated by the Gloucester County Utilities Authority.  The sewage collection system contains 38 pumping stations, several force mains, and gravity lines which deliver sewage through one of two metering stations maintained by the Gloucester County Utilities Authority.

The water system has three 3 million gallon tanks, one 400,000 gallon spheroid tank, and three standpipes which provide a total storage capacity  of approximately 10 million gallons of water.  The Authority pumps about 7 million gallons per day from 14 existing wells.

The Authority's customers are billed quarterly via a computerized billing system.  Residential customer pay a water fee based upon actual usage.  Residential customers pay a sewer fee based on the previous years winter quarters usage.

Inflow and Infiltration Program:
Ground water and rain water can enter our sewer system from cracks in pipes, leaky joint in pipes and manholes, low lying manholes, sump pumps, and under drain systems.

Along with our sewer line TV camera, we will be using recently acquired equipment to measure flows in sewer mains an pump stations during low flow periods of the day to find possible infiltration.  All inflow and infiltration that is found will be sealed out of our system.

The Gloucester County Utilities Authority (GCUA) charges us by the gallons of sewage they receive for treatment.  The more inflow and infiltration we can prevent, the more money we can save.

Service Area and Customers:
The Authority's present water and sewer service is entirely within the boundaries of the Township.  The Authority currently has approximately 16,725 customers serviced by its water and sewer system.

Water Supply:
The Authority presently obtains water from 14 wells, 8 of which draw from the Potomac-Rariton-Magathy system (the P-R-M Aquifer), 4 which draw from the Cohansey Aquifer, and 2 which draw from the Mt. Laurel Aquifer.  The Authority's average daily flow for 1997 was approximately 7 million gallons per day.   The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) believes that the P-R-M Aquifer is being depleted.  The NJDEP therefore has designated Proposed Water Supply Critical Area No. 2 in a portion of Southern New Jersey which includes Washington Township.  Washington Township abides by the DEP restrictions of water usage from the P-R-M Aquifer, thereby conserving its water for future use.

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