Frazil ice is back and already causing problems for Trenton.
The menace that caused Trenton Water Works (TWW) and its customers so much trouble last winter has already gained notice from the state’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in a letter posted to the DEP’s website on Dec. 12.
Last winter, the naturally occurring frazil ice created problems for the TWW filtration plant, clogging the intakes in the Delaware River.
Customers of the city’s water utility were under an advisory to conserve water from Jan. 8 of this year until March 7, when temperatures warmed up to make the ice no longer an issue.
The letter says that the “treatment plant was shut down for several hours due to frazil ice conditions in the raw water intake.”
Icy conditions led the state agency to demand action by TWW during the months when the frazil ice conditions exist, while “the intake is a critical point of failure that must continue to be addressed as an emergency.”
DEP Assistant Director of the Division of Water Supply and Geoscience Kristin Tedesco wrote the letter and detailed these requirements while the intake is in danger of icing over:
“1. Issue a water conservation notice until further notice.
“2. Provide daily updates to the Department on the reservoir level and status of all interconnections through March 2026.
“3. Procure an emergency contract allowing divers to address frazil ice as needed and help ensure continued operations during the winter.
“4. Provide updates, as requested by the Department, on the status of the recent intake RFP for long-term design and operation improvements.”
Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora told the Trentonian that the city is working with the DEP to address the issue.
“We are grateful they approved our request to hire a third-party engineering firm to investigate why frazil ice is an issue at the plant and what design improvements can be made,” Gusciora said. “We continue to operate our filtration plant. We had divers there today to inspect the intake system and look forward to the engineering assessment.”
The city is currently working on issuing a water conservation notice, but a source at TWW said, “the water filtration plant is running normally, and there has been no disruption to water treatment or distribution. The filtration plant is well-engineered and operated by highly-qualified, state-licensed operators.”
