ASSEMBLY, No. 1736
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
220th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2022 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman JOHN F. MCKEON
District 27 (Essex and Morris)
Assemblywoman CAROL A. MURPHY
District 7 (Burlington)
Assemblywoman BRITNEE N. TIMBERLAKE
District 34 (Essex and Passaic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Calabrese
SYNOPSIS
Requires water purveyors to conduct, and report to DEP, water loss audits.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As amended but not reported by the Assembly Special Committee on Infrastructure and Natural Resources Committee on March 10, 2022.
An Act concerning water loss in public water systems and amending and supplementing various parts of the statutory law.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. R.S.48:2-23 is amended to read as follows:
48:2-23. a. The board may, after public hearing, upon notice, by order in writing, require any public utility to furnish safe, adequate and proper service, including furnishing and performance of service in a manner that tends to conserve and preserve the quality of the environment and prevent the pollution of the waters, land and air of this State, and including furnishing and performance of service in a manner which preserves and protects the water quality of a public water [supply] system, and to maintain its property and equipment in such condition as to enable it to do so.
The board may, pending any such proceeding, require any public utility to continue to furnish service and to maintain its property and equipment in such condition as to enable it to do so.
The board, in requiring any public water utility to furnish safe, adequate and proper service, may require the public water utility to retain in its rate base any property which the board determines is necessary to protect the water quality of a public water [supply] system.
b. Each public water utility shall provide the board with a completed and validated water loss audit report pursuant to section 7 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
(cf: P.L.1988, c.163, s.5)
2. Section 3 of P.L.1981, c.262 (C.58:1A-3) is amended to read as follows:
3. As used in the provisions of P.L.1981, c.262 (C.58:1A-1 et [seq.] al.), P.L.1993, c.202 (C.58:1A-7.3 et al.) and P.L.2003, c.251 (C.58:1A-13.1 et al.):
"Aquaculture" means the propagation, rearing, and subsequent harvesting of aquatic organisms in controlled or selected environments, and the subsequent processing, packaging, and marketing, and shall include, but need not be limited to, activities to intervene in the rearing process to increase production such as stocking, feeding, transplanting, and providing for protection from predators. "Aquaculture" shall not include the construction of facilities and appurtenant structures that might otherwise be regulated pursuant to any State or federal law or regulation.
"Aquatic organism" means and includes, but need not be limited to, finfish, mollusks, crustaceans, and aquatic plants which are the property of a person engaged in aquaculture.
[a.] "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of [the Department of] Environmental Protection or the commissioner's designated representative [;].
[b.] "Consumptive use" means any use of water diverted from surface or ground waters other than a nonconsumptive use as defined in this section [;].
Data validity score means the assessment of the quality of data used in a water loss audit report in accordance with the data validity scoring system of the American Water Works Associations most current edition of the Water Audits and Loss Control Programs, Manual M36 and its associated Free Water Audit Software.
[c.] "Department" means the Department of Environmental Protection [;].
[d.] "Diversion" means the taking or impoundment of water from a river, stream, lake, pond, aquifer, well, other underground source, or other water body, whether or not the water is returned thereto, consumed, made to flow into another stream or basin, or discharged elsewhere[;].
Level one validation means the process whereby a water purveyor interacts with a technical expert who did not participate in compiling the water loss audit to review and confirm the basis of all data entries in the water purveyors water loss audit report and to appropriately characterize the data validity score of the reported data.
[e.] "Nonconsumptive use" means the use of water diverted from surface or ground waters in such a manner that it is returned to the surface or ground water at or near the point from which it was taken without substantial diminution in quantity or substantial impairment of quality [;].
[f.] "Person" means any individual, corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, owner or operator of a [water supply facility] public water system, political subdivision of the State and any state, or interstate agency or Federal agency [;].
1Public community water system means the same as that term is defined in subsection l. of section 3 of P.L.1977, c.224 (C.58:12A-3).1
"Public water system" means 1[a system for the provision to the public of water for human consumption through pipes or other constructed conveyances, if such system has at least 15 service connections or regularly serves an average of at least 25 individuals daily at least 60 days out of the year. "Public water system" includes: (1) any collection, treatment, storage and distribution facilities under control of the operator of such system and used primarily in connection with such system; and (2) any collection or pre‑treatment storage facilities not under such control which are used primarily in c