The City owns the Drinking Water Infrastructure System that provides water transmission and distribution services to the 55,000+ residents and commercial and industrial establishments in Hoboken. Drinking water for the City is currently purchased from the Jersey City Municipal Utilities Authority (JCMUA).
There are more than 41 miles of water main in the System. The majority of pipes range in age from 100 years and older, to sections installed as recently as 2021. Transmission and distribution pipe sizes within the System range from 30-inch diameter down to 4-inch diameter, and water services typically range between 6 inches and 5/8 inches. The system service area includes the entire City.
Chapter 193 of the Municipal Code of the City of Hoboken governs the Hoboken Water System.
Review the New Water Service Application Process.
To see if Veolia is working in your area and check if you may be affected by routine water system maintenance, please enter your address into the Veolia Outage & Alerts Advisory Map.
The City owns the Drinking Water Infrastructure System that provides water transmission and distribution services to the 55,000+ residents and commercial and industrial establishments in Hoboken. Drinking water for the City is currently purchased from the Jersey City Municipal Utilities Authority (JCMUA).
There are more than 41 miles of water main in the System. The majority of pipes range in age from 100 years and older, to sections installed as recently as 2021. Transmission and distribution pipe sizes within the System range from 30-inch diameter down to 4-inch diameter, and water services typically range between 6 inches and 5/8 inches. The system service area includes the entire City.
Chapter 193 of the Municipal Code of the City of Hoboken governs the Hoboken Water System.
Review the New Water Service Application Process.
To see if Veolia is working in your area and check if you may be affected by routine water system maintenance, please enter your address into the Veolia Outage & Alerts Advisory Map.
Due to increased bulk water costs imposed by the Jersey City Municipal Utilities Authority, the Hoboken Water Utility must increase rates by 7% this year. This 7% increase means the average quarterly bill for a family of four will increase by an estimated $14.98 starting in March 2022.
Hoboken purchases clean drinking water, known as bulk water, from the JCMUA, which supplies water from the Jersey City Reservoir in Boonton and the Split Rock Reservoir in Rockaway Township.
Over the past 18 months, the JCMUA has raised the bulk water rate by a total of 12.75%, leaving the Hoboken Water Utility to fund the increase.
To cover the JCMUA’s new bulk water rate increase, the Hoboken Water Utility must raise rates by 7% to maintain a balanced budget, as the procurement of bulk water accounts for 47% of the Hoboken Water Utility’s budget.
Historically, Hoboken has never raised water rates for residents beyond the Consumer Price Index, and this increase is solely due to the JCMUA’s non-negotiable rate increase.
This year, the Hoboken Water Utility will launch a rate study with engineering firm CDM Smith, seeking to stabilize any future consumer rate increases and account for critical water infrastructure investments and potential emergencies.
Residents can limit the impact of the water rate increases by conserving water. For water conservation tip go to www.epa.gov/watersense/start-saving or go to www.hobokennj.gov/docs/water-conservation.
For more information on the water rate increase, click here.
The majority of pipes range in age from 100 years and older, to sections installed as recently as 2021.
Some parts of Hoboken’s water system are more than 100 years old. The majority of the system is nearing the end of its useful life. As cast iron pipes age, they become brittle and are more prone to break from changes in temperature, pressure fluctuations, or vibrations.
Beginning in 1994, the City of Hoboken sold the rights to the water system until 2024. A 30-year revenue stream of approximately $240 million was sold to United Water (now Veolia) in exchange for $13.2 million dollars in one-time payments. That former agreement required the company to make almost no proactive investment in Hoboken’s water infrastructure. In the past two plus decades, only $350,000 per year was invested in the system, and as a result, only 5% of the system had been upgraded before 2017.
The City of Hoboken and now Veolia agreed to a new water service contract that will invest at least $33 million in water infrastructure upgrades through 2034. The amended agreement established a new public water utility on July 1, 2019. It includes an average of $2.2 million in water investments per year, over six times the amount of the former contract. Additionally, the contract calls for $2 million in smart technology to monitor water consumption, which would save Hoboken ratepayers from paying for costly leaks.
Veolia continues to maintain and operate the water system. However, the amended agreement established the Hoboken Water Utility, which collects the revenue from water consumption and reinvests the majority of that revenue into water main upgrades. The water system is no longer operated as a private water concession, under which revenue became profits for Veolia. Instead of the revenue from the system going to Veolia with only minimal repairs required, it is now directly invested by the Hoboken Water Utility into proactive upgrades.
The City launched a Water System Replacement Program in 2018. Since launching the Water Main Replacement Program, Hoboken has installed over 13,000 linear feet of new water mains, including the installation of new water mains along Washington Street as a part of the Washington Street Redesign Project.
The proactive water infrastructure improvements, achievable through the 2019 restructured agreement with SUEZ, have resulted in fewer water main breaks, increasing residents' quality of life. Specifically, last year, Hoboken had a total of 12 water main breaks, almost half the total of water main breaks in 2020, and a stark contrast compared to the 34 water main breaks that occurred in 2013.
The upgrades have also resulted in a cost savings of approximately $100,000 per year in emergency repairs since the implementation of the 2019 SUEZ agreement.
In fact, it’s quite good! Veolia (formerly SUEZ) has prepared a detailed water quality report. The Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) shows how Hoboken measured up to state and federal standards for safe drinking water in 2021. Click here to view the Hoboken Water Quality Report. Please call 800 575 4433 if you would prefer a paper report mailed to your home.
