Gloucester City Water Responsible for Killing Pond and Aquarium Fish
Thursday, July 09, 2009
By Bill Cleary
On June 23, a resident sent a letter to ClearysNoteBook.com complaining about Gloucester City’s water killing her pond fish. The letter reads as follows,
Gloucester City Residents- Take heed and don’t make the mistake I made. As you may know, Gloucester City is in the process of building a new “water treatment” plant. Here’s my story. On Monday, the water in my fish pond was extremely low so I took the garden hose and filled it up. I then fed my eight gold fish that have lived in my pond for three years. After a couple hours, I went out in the yard to check on the water level and found eight “dead” fish.
Since I was shocked with my discovery, I phoned Bill’s Wonderland of Pets and told my story to a very attentive guy. He asked me where I lived and when I answered Gloucester City, he said, “want to hear a story?” He continued to tell me about a woman, who lives in Gloucester and that she breeds “Angel Fish” for the store and recently lost a couple of her tanks of fish. He then said there is very likely a problem with Gloucester’s water having too much chlorine and ammonia which killed the fish.
So, to anyone with tropical fish or backyard fish ponds, DO NOT change or add any Gloucester City water without first getting the water tested and treated!
A Sad Pet Owner
Following the posting of that letter (two weeks ago) numerous complaints and
comments from other residents who experienced the same problem were posted on CNB. I called the plant a couple of times to speak with the superintendent of the department, Fred Schindler, but was told finally today he is on vacation. However, I did learn that a statement from the department was going to be released today to the weekly newspaper, the Gloucester City News and Channel 19.
I was able to obtain a copy of the unsigned letter which warns residents about the city water killing pond and aquarium fish.
It reads as follows,
Construction continues at the Water Department. To date 300 pilings have been set with 100 more left to do.
The Gloucester City Utilities Department has also made required modifications to the treatment and operations of the plant. These changes have had minimal impact on water quality or quantity, although interruptions were anticipated.
Recently on or about the third week of June to the first week of July, possible water problems have been reported concerning loss of aquarium and pond fish. Resulting from our investigations, we believe that the combination of chlorine and associated by-products had an acute affect on fish. This situation in no way suggests that there is a health concern to the residents of the City.
The Gloucester City Utility Department continues its promise to deliver proper water quality and quantity in accordance with all state and federal regulations. We welcome any questions or comments you may have and are sorry for any inconvenience this project may cause. Please feel free to call us at 456-0169. This is a 24 hour active line.
photo by Bill
Construction of the new water treatment plant, costing $9.4 million is moving along. Above pilings for the new building are being put into the ground.
The existing Gloucester City Water
Treatment Plant was originally constructed in the early 1880s. The reservoir and
filter building were constructed in 1883, while the settling tank and pump house
were constructed in 1921. The main treatment equipment, which are the pressure
sand filter tanks were installed in 1959.
The replacement is needed to improve water quality being pumped from the City wells and to replace existing equipment that has exceeded its life expectancy.
In 1995 the City received a grant of $180,000 from the New Jersey Historic Preservation Bond Program to restore the exterior masonry of the building. See New Jersey Historic Trust .