New generator on the way to Secaucus

  • 2015-09-11
A grant has been given to the Secaucus Municipal Utilities Authority to help upgrade the Koelle Boulevard wastewater treatment facility.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency provided $100,000 to the utility to purchase a new generator for the facility, which was damaged during Hurricane Sandy. The new piece of equipment will run on both natural gas and diesel fuel. According to the MUA’s executive director, Brian Bigler, the diesel fuel that the current system uses was hard to get during the storm and its wake.

Bigler noted that while the present system was able to ride out the bad weather, if it had to shut down, it would affect the entire community very quickly, backing up sanitary and storm sewers, creating a risk to public health.

There is currently storage space for enough diesel to run the equipment for 48 to 52 hours, and since the upgraded one will be connected directly to a natural gas line, it will not be dependent on diesel fuel being able to be delivered during a crisis.

Brochure printers will be able to produce materials that can be set out to the public to give them more information about the new generator and how it might impact them.

The facility at Koelle Boulevard treats all of the wastewater generated in the community, and it is essential piece of protecting public health and the local environment.