Deputy Mayor Cutrone: Investing in Clean Water in Fair Lawn

The Big Idea:

●      Fair Lawn has secured a $3.4 million federal investment to upgrade and improve the town’s water treatment.

●      Led by Fair Lawn Deputy Mayor and teacher Cristina Cutrone and Congressman Gottheimer, this investment builds on Fair Lawn’s ongoing expansion and upgrades of its groundwater clean-up efforts, following a $19.5 million investment in 2018 to address decades of contaminated water supply.

Background:

Over the past five years, Fair Lawn's water department has had to shut down a number of wells that were unsafe due to PFAs — also known as forever chemicals — and lead in the drinking water. PFAs and lead have been linked to numerous adverse health effects, including cancers and impaired child development.

The newly secured funding will be used to safely reopen these wells, helping both promote clean water and save Fair Lawn residents money, since the limited number of wells has led families and small businesses to purchase safe drinking water from private companies.

By the Numbers:

The average New Jersey resident uses 70 gallons of water per day, and during peak water months — April to October — up to 155 gallons per day.

Their Take:

Deputy Mayor Cristina Cutrone

“These $3.4 million are crucial to ensuring that we continue to remove any and all harmful chemicals from our water, to making sure that our pipes are lead free, and to addressing the hardness that can cause damage to our appliances and pipes. It means that we can create long-term solutions that will allow us to bring all of our wells back online.”

-  Deputy Mayor Cristina Cutrone