Hopewell Township, Mercer County, NJ – On December 18, 2025, Trenton Water Works (TWW) issued a Water Conservation Advisory for its customers due to frazil ice conditions impacting the water supply. Ewing Mayor Bert Steinmann, Hopewell Township Mayor Courtney Peters-Manning, and Hamilton Mayor Jeff Martin have the following joint statement:
“If these failures did not have real-world consequences for our residents, this situation would feel like a bad comedy,” said the Mayors. “Under its current leadership, Trenton Water Works has repeatedly failed to address longstanding operational issues. TWW has had approximately a year to resolve problems related to frazil ice, which causes a decrease in the water supply, yet once again, residents are being asked to conserve water due to preventable supply disruptions.”
“Hopewell Township residents should not have to continually worry about water quality issues such as brown water or legionella, nor should they now be concerned about whether water will be available at all,” the Mayor continued. “For these reasons, and many others, I am calling on our State legislators in Legislative Districts 14 and 15 to amend the Water Infrastructure Protection Act (WIPA) to allow the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to determine when a water system faces emergent conditions so that public reformation hearings may be held. When the authority to declare an emergency rests solely with those who are failing to lead, the cycle of mismanagement will continue.”
“In light of these ongoing failures, Hopewell Township will also work with the State to explore whether municipalities currently served by Trenton Water Works can pursue the creation of an independent water utility, allowing us to permanently separate from TWW’s continued incompetence.”