What is Water Forward?
Solving community challenges takes partnership, collaboration, and a shared commitment. That’s especially important when the focus is as vital as safe, reliable drinking water. Water Forward is helping plan for a future where everyone has access to safe, reliable, and affordable drinking water. The project is evaluating options for how the water system is governed and funded to support long-term service, transparency, and community needs.
What are the challenges?
Like many historic water utilities across the nation, TWW needs significant investment in capital improvements and new technology to keep pace with modern standards and regulatory changes. These demands are compounded at a time when the entire water industry is grappling with rising costs, emerging contaminants, and an aging workforce.
For decades, TWW has struggled to sustain compliance with state regulations and the Safe Water Drinking Act. In 2022, NJDEP took the extraordinary step of taking administrative oversight of the utility. Despite millions in investment and intensive operational support committed by the State of New Jersey to bolster this critical water system, in 2024, a third-party assessment labeled TWW as “extremely high risk” for systemic failure.
What is the goal of Water Forward?
The goal is to evaluate alternate governance models and recommend a path forward that will strengthen the drinking water system for the thousands of people served by TWW across five neighboring municipalities.
A broad range of options are under consideration - there are no predetermined outcomes - and community voices will shape the recommendations.
Who is involved?
The project was funded by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to support a thorough, fact-based analysis that provides credible answers and fosters trust and consensus through a transparent public process. Water Forward is a partnership between the NJDEP, the City of Trenton and the Townships of Ewing, Hamilton, Hopewell and Lawrence. To provide an objective assessment, Hazen and Sawyer was selected to conduct the analysis based on the firm’s deep expertise and decades of experience working with communities on complex water issues.
There are two major components to the project:
Finance and Structure
Analyze different options for how TWW could be governed and managed.
Determine the full cost of upgrading pipes, pumps, and facilities to meet current standards.
Outline a long-term budget that supports reliable operations and includes needed staffing.
Calculate the true value of TWW’s physical assets.
Evaluate how different governance options would affect the cost, timing, and ability to deliver capital improvements.
Community Outreach
Engage with the local community, connect with community leaders, and establish dialogue across the entire service area.
Promote a strong collaboration between regulatory agencies and the community.
Listen to community concerns and hopes for the future.
Integrate solutions that address equity, affordability, and community identity.
Communicate clearly in plain language the options, benefits, and risks.