TFTT Report

Last month, Middlesex Water Company Chairman, President, and CEO Dennis Doll participated in a roundtable sponsored by NJ Spotlight on the topic of “New Jersey’s Hidden Water Crisis.” Doll shared his views on the challenges facing water authorities and water companies, including increased concerns about water safety in the wake of the Flint, Mich. crisis and the overarching problem of aging infrastructure.

During his remarks, Doll suggested that, while aging infrastructure often leaves the perception that many water systems are in desperate need of total replacement, it’s unfair to characterize the water or wastewater infrastructure of the entire state as needing substantial rehabilitation. In fact, many systems are well-run and adequately maintained. Doll noted that anti-private water activist groups are inexplicably using Flint as an “opportunity to advance their misguided agenda” and “to promote the notion that public ownership and operation of water systems is good and investor-owned ownership or operation is bad.” Truth from the Tap has addressed these very same scare tactics used by these groups before.

Doll hit it right on the head, saying he does not “believe we’re having an honest enough conversation about the true nature and complexity of operations involved in water treatment and distribution” because some participating in the conversation rely more on emotion and fear than facts and reason. “We’re not talking about the problems and who should bear responsibility for the fixes – how all the operational and financial needs can and should be addressed,” he added.

Doll also noted that investor-owned utilities like Middlesex Water Company “are held to a very high, single, consistent set of standards for rates and service quality by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.” As a source of comparison, Doll pointed out that municipal systems each have their own governing body that establishes standards for rates and service. Doll concluded that, “when you have so many different sets of standards of performance, logically some systems are going to be better maintained than others. And when standards are not consistent you can bet that the cost structures are also not consistent.”

Further, some systems are not charging their customers the true cost of service, trading under-maintenance of their water and wastewater systems to avoid the negative political consequences of rate increases. Doll believes the true cost of providing service should be reflected fully in the municipal utility bill and not hidden as part of property tax bills or other taxes, fees or assessments.

Doll recognized that investor-owned and municipal-owned water purveyors “are neither better nor worse than each other, they’re just different and there’s a place for both. Each has its own benefits and each has its own costs.” Doll suggested that consistent enforcement of regulations as well as consistent and standardized asset management criteria be established across both private and municipal systems in the state to ensure greater accountability and transparency. “Let’s eliminate the unproductive background noise and focus on realistic solutions to enhancing drinking infrastructure in which residents can feel confident.”

At the end of the day, private water companies are committed to providing safe and reliable water to their customers and we stand behind that commitment.