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The Jersey Water Works 2026 Annual Conference is where water utility leaders, community advocates, and policymakers turn complex water infrastructure challenges into equitable opportunities. Grounded in our collective mission of shared actions, this year’s convening focuses on navigating critical regulatory shifts—including aggressive lead service line replacements, new PFAS regulations, and aging combined sewer overflows.

Join over 250 state and local leaders, practitioners, and stakeholders to address the urgent need for investment in New Jersey’s water systems, connect with peers to explore solutions, and recognize the collective efforts advancing our state.

Education is essential to helping people understand how stormwater moves through a community, but effective education requires more than presenting technically accurate information. Information should be relevant to the audience, grounded in familiar examples, and clear about why the information matters. In the Rahway River Watershed, that means helping municipal leaders, residents, and community partners understand how local decisions affect flooding, water quality, and the health of the watershed.

In April, the Stormwater Utility Subcommittee reviewed summaries of twelve stormwater utility (dedicated user fee funding) feasibility studies funded by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) through their Stormwater Utility Feasibility Study Technical Assistance Program. Three of these projects resulted in the adoption of an active stormwater utility (Maplewood, New Brunswick, and Raritan Township in Hunterdon County). Dan Van Abs, a retired Rutgers University professor, highlighted key aspects of the reports as they explore fee-based stormwater management solutions. The studies covered a wide range of geographic areas, from mostly rural to fully urbanized. A key point is that the municipalities developed an impervious area based user fee structure and investigated diverse ways to use stormwater fees, from funding only capital projects to funding all municipal stormwater operations.

Water is a vital piece of community infrastructure. Water affordability and infrastructure challenges are connected. We need to invest in water infrastructure to maintain it, but we also need to fund those investments in ways that ensure people can afford to pay their water bills. As water advocates, we must embrace multifaceted solutions to tackle the water affordability problem from various angles. An estimated one-fifth of all New Jersey households face challenges affording their water and sewer bills. Unaffordable water bills threaten savings, wealth building, and access to water since water debt can lead to shut-offs and tax lien sales along with compounding interest and penalties that make it harder to pay off the debt. Permanent solutions in this area can have far-reaching benefits. These include strengthening the tenuous hold on building savings and retaining wealth at the household level, ensuring access to basic needs such as clean drinking water and healthful sewerage and stormwater service at the community level, and supporting sustained progress of existing projects targeting lead service line removal and combined sewer overflow at the utility level, which are vital community infrastructure and have long term health and economic benefits.

On October 9 and 10, the PFAS Summit, organized by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) in collaboration with partners like the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), drew an impressive crowd at the NJIT campus in Newark. With nearly 300 participants, the summit featured a diverse lineup of speakers, each bringing unique perspectives and expertise to the discussion. For those interested in learning more about the speakers' backgrounds, a link to their bios is available, along with a detailed agenda of the event.

Lieutenant Governor Way signed into law New Jersey’s Bill S1034/A2929, marking a major victory for public health and tenant protections across the state. The legislation, which passed with unanimous approval in the state legislature, ensures that all tenants will receive critical information about potential lead exposure in their drinking water.

“Tenants are often the population least likely to know their status,” explains Deandrah Cameron, policy manager at New Jersey Future. “This new law ensures a more comprehensive, timely, and accurate disclosure process to all tenants, including those who don’t directly pay their water bills.”

Jersey Water Works is calling on candidates for Governor of New Jersey to prioritize a holistic "one water" approach, which recognizes the interconnectedness of drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater management. In early September, the Jersey Water Works Steering Committee sent a letter outlining recommendations for this comprehensive strategy and expressing their willingness to collaborate on initiatives that promote sustainable water practices across the state. This integrated approach enhances the quality and reliability of water resources, ensuring a healthier environment for all New Jersey residents.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — July 10, 2025 CONTACT: Heather Sorge, Lead-Free NJ Program Manager, hsorge@njfuture.org, 609-393-0008 ext 1016   NJ Schools can Access $94 Million in State Grants for Lead Remediation in Drinking Water (Jersey Water Works and Lead-Free New Jersey Urge Swift Action to Protect Children’s Health) Update: Deadline extended to October 31. TRENTON, NJ (July 10, 2025) — With children’s health on the line, Jersey Water Works ...

Jersey Water Works is proud to announce the release of a new video featuring three emerging professionals who participated in the Emerging Water Leaders of Color Leadership Circle. The video celebrates their journey to their current impactful careers while highlighting the crucial work of Jersey Water Works, a collaborative addressing New Jersey's critical water infrastructure and stormwater management challenges.

On a chilly January evening in 2025, a group of fourteen determined individuals came together to forge connections over a shared meal. This gathering was part of the Emerging Water Leaders of Color Leadership Circle, a transformative initiative designed to assist individuals in expanding their knowledge, skills, and professional network.