Rate hike information for N.J. American Water customers

Lakewood’s New Jersey American Water customers are receiving this notice in the mail.  

This content, and any other content on TLS, may not be republished or reproduced without prior permission from TLS. Copying or reproducing our content is both against the law and against Halacha. To inquire about using our content, including videos or photos, email us at [email protected].

Stay up to date with our news alerts by following us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

**Click here to join over 20,000 receiving our Whatsapp Status updates!**

**Click here to join the official TLS WhatsApp Community!**

Got a news tip? Email us at [email protected], Text 415-857-2667, or WhatsApp 609-661-8668.

28 COMMENTS

  1. How can we fight this? We already pay 5X more than LTMUA customers on the other side of Lakewood. Where are our local politicians when we really need them?

  2. My water bill was $200 this month.
    6 people in a 4 bedroom home…. does this even make sense??? Sure we are using water and willing to pay but something is just not right here. Is everyone getting these high bills in Lakewood?

  3. American Water, the parent company of NJ American Water, just increased its quarterly dividend by 9.6%, and they are expecting total earnings for the year to increase 7-10%. With all the surcharges, purchased water agreements, and the non-stop price increases, my water bill has risen to the point where it’s greater than my gas and electric bill combined.Lakewood is paying for American Waters earnings growth,, and the BPU doesn’t stick up for us.
    Municipalities in California, Indiana, , Illinois, and elsewhere were so fed up with American Waters constant rate increases that they used eminent domain to take back the water system and put it under municipal control. Perhaps that is something Lakewood residents can explore. If enough Lakewood residents reach out to our elected officials, perhaps things will change…

  4. The water company needs a lot of money to pay for the new infrastructure, so the township can supply enough water for the expected growth.

  5. To TG, the name of the game in the water utility business is putting in as much new capital “to replace aging infrastructure” or “to allow for future growth” etc. so the company can get the Board of utilities to aprrove new price increases. American Water is bigger and better at this game than it’s competitors.
    From Motley Fool:
    American Water “will invest 8.6 Billion in infrastructure in the next five years, once again guaranteeing rate increases and growth for the next decade. That’s much more capital than peers can deploy in the same time span…. bigger really is better”

  6. The water bill is already crazy high….
    And if you are just a little late paying your bill they are the quickest to shut your water service!!
    Can someone please put a stop to this???

  7. I thought we had a shortage of water because of all of the people moving in to lakewood. Are we really ready to become a city?

  8. Our elected officials will not be able to fight N.J. American for us because most of them are board members at the MUA and it would constitute a conflict of interest.

    Just a heads up- MUA customers are probably also going to get a rate hike because the MUA will have to start buying water from N.J. American when their supply maxes out, which is expected to happen sometime over the next few years.

  9. Before everyone starts bashing the developers, you should know that NJAWC does not pay a penny towards either water or sewer lines that did not previously exist.. The builders are required to pay, up front, for those infrastructure improvements which makes the rate hike that much more difficult to swallow

  10. Is there anything we can do to fight this? Like those who commented above I also have insanely high water bills, it’s like the Wild West, they can charge whatever they want and we have no alternative so we can’t say no. Aren’t there laws against this in America ?? Monopolies are illegal and this is no different

  11. The crazy part is that it’s illegal to use well water for the house in Lakewood. It’s only allowed to water the grass. I hear the MUA rates are much cheaper. Can anyone please post a MUA $ amount for a water bill with a consumption of 6,000 gallons

  12. The same issue comes up every couple of years, there are a bunch of unhappy commentors, and then the issue fades away until the next rate hike. There can be another 100 upset comments, but it will be business as usual for NJAW. There is no way anything will change unless there is a concerted effort by everyone to petition the local elected officials and the BPU to take a stand. Thousands of angry voters WILL get them to take note…..

    • Yup. The German Utility Company RWE acquired the company for $8.6 billion and renamed it American Water. However… that was part of its name before… they just shortened it. The subsidiaries get the state name added to it so you have New Jersey American Water Company and Pennsylvania American Water Company and Missouri American Water Company, etc. So actually a German company! There are indeed several municipalities who got sick of the trend here. Soon as these guys get in… there are increased costs, decreased service, aggressive collection tactics, higher environmental impact, reductions in pay and benefits for workers (which affects how they do their work and their overall attitude), etc. So several municipalities fought and took the water services over. We should do that here! The Lakewood MUA seems to do a far better job… and I think it is nice when utilities are not for profit seeing as how they are a very basic need.

  13. i just found out…through reading my water bill that there is a program called NJ SHARES that may help subsidize your water bill up to $27/month if you’re low income. You can call LRRC and listen to the recording to hear more. I wish I would have known abt it from when we moved in…I hope this helps many people since it’s true that water is so expensive…

Comments are closed.