The Hoboken City Council approved a $552,900 engineering contract for Edison-based CDM Smith for Phase 1 of lead service line replacements funded by the local water utility at last night’s meeting.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“I just wanted to give 30 seconds, it’s a pretty big number. This is, as everyone is aware, or we’ve talked about before, we need to replace the lead service lines in Hoboken by 2031. Any number is maybe it’s a thousand and these are the lines that are between the main water line in the middle of the road and the house,” said 2nd Ward Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher.
“And we’re starting this spring so what this project is going to be doing test pits around the city and those test pits are gonna happen – there’s 500 of them – I think there’s 500 of them, so we’re gonna have 500 small 18 x 18-inch test pits on sidewalks all across the city.”
The measure came before the Mile Square City’s governing body two weeks after they narrowly approved 8 percent water rate increases for the 2026 and 2027, as HCV first reported.
According to the resolution, CDM Smith will recommend a set of test pits citywide, develop site pans, assist with procuring a contractor, and provide test pit construction oversight.
The resolution passed unanimously (9-0) without any further discussion, with 1st Ward Councilman Paul Presinzano and 5th Ward Councilman Phil Cohen voting via phone.
