Moving on after fallout
from ’03 sewage spill

Last week’s settlement between the Middlesex County Utilities Authority and the state brings a degree of closure to one of the worst environmental catastrophes the region has ever seen.

The MCUA, which manages the county’s wastewater and solid waste services, has for a year and a half been working and paying to resolve the many issues surrounding its March 2003 sewer main break in Sayreville. The break, caused by several factors including corroded pipes, took nine days to repair and resulted in 570 million gallons of raw sewage being spilled into the Raritan River. In addition to the environmental impact, some 26,000 acres of shellfish beds in area waterways had to be temporarily closed down as a result of the spill.

The MCUA has had to answer to the many clammers who lost wages as a result of the spill, and to nearby residents whose properties were flooded by the wastewater.

It has been a lengthy and costly process to clean up the damage caused by this incident.

The agreement by the MCUA to pay the state $100,000 and build a new backup sewer main under the Raritan River between Sayreville and Edison seems to signal the end of the cleanup and recovery period, and the beginning of constructive action to see that a problem such as the main break of March 2003 does not happen again.