Water Shutoffs In Camden Under Scrutiny

The city of Camden, NJ, is facing a lawsuit regarding the transparency of local water shutoff policies.

The advocacy group Food & Water Watch is bringing the suit, arguing that this is a “first-of its-kind lawsuit for New Jersey.”

The group states that it submitted open records requests to Camden for data on water shutoffs. The city referred Food & Water Watch to a subsidiary of New Jersey American Water, the private entity managing city water. New Jersey American Water owns one-third of Camden water lines; the city owns the rest, NJ.com reported.

According to Food & Water Watch, requests to the company for water shutoff data have not been returned.

“We are suing Camden in order to force New Jersey American Water to release details on water shutoffs in the city,” Food & Water Watch states.

“A Superior Court lawsuit filed [in June] accused the city of Camden of hiding ‘behind the veil’ of private contracts with utility companies like New Jersey American Water, and not disclosing information about the amount of municipal water-service shutoffs,” NJ.com reported.

Vince Basara, a spokesman for Camden Mayor Frank Moran, spoke to NJ.com about the suit.

He said the Food & Water Watch’s information request asked for personal information, “such as addresses at which shutoffs had occurred. He said the city was not obligated to share that information. But he said it could have redacted the information and shared information that was public. However, it did not,” NJ.com reported.

Basara added that 30 households in Camden experienced water service suspension in 2017, followed by four in 2018. He said he gathered the information from the city’s law department, which retrieved it from the water company, NJ.com reported.

"People shouldn't have to sue to find out basic information about their water systems from secretive companies," said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch, per NJ.com.

Water affordability is a major challenge in Camden, which is ranked third among U.S. cities with the lowest median income.

“The typical yearly water bill is $377, which is not affordable to a third of city residents who have a yearly income of about $15,000,” NJ.com reported.

American Water has stated that it wants to be a positive force in Camden. The company’s new 220,000-square-foot corporate is currently under construction on the city’s water front, The Courier-Post reported.

"We've been serving Camden for more than 120 years. And we want to be here another 100 years or more. This is more than putting a stake in the ground; we want to continue to be a part of this community,” said American Water’s Joe Szafran, referring to the creation of the headquarters.

The viability of water shutoffs is a timely issue in the water sector because affordability is one of the greatest challenges facing utilities and ratepayers. One study found that water may become unaffordable for one-third of U.S. households in the next four years.