Throughout Bergen and Hudson Counties

Bergen and Hudson Counties, NJ

The program included replacement of lead service lines located throughout Bergen and Hudson counties. H2M was selected because of our positive reputation working with Veolia on the annual water main replacement program.

Veolia owns, operates, and maintains a network of hundreds of miles of transmission and distribution infrastructure serving more than a million residents in numerous municipalities/institutions
throughout the State. In advance of proposed NJ lead service line regulations, and new U.S. EPA regulations, Veolia launched a comprehensive lead service line replacement (LSLR) program in 2019.
The initial scope of the 2021 LSLR program was characterized by the performance of dig-and-determine for 1,900 services and the replacement of approximately 1,200 (lead and non-lead) lines within the Hackensack Public Water System Identification (PWSID), which has since been expanded to 4,600 dig and determines and 2,500 replacements. Veolia sought assistance from H2M as Construction Administrator and Construction Observer to support these regulatory compliance goals and ensure detailed records of field activity, including digital mapping in a GIS framework.

The most challenging portion of compliance was in the identification, cataloging, mapping, and replacement of lead service lines in systems. Particularly vital to the success of this effort was the creation and maintenance of a set of standards intended to document compliance with the updated federal Lead and Copper Rule and ensure continuity of critical infrastructure data for future operations. To accomplish this, H2M utilized a novel, tablet-based data collection tool to document each crew’s daily activities and ensure immediate QA/QC access to the Veolia leadership team.

The replacements were all conducted in public right-of-ways, often in residential and urban environments. The work needed to be completed and service restored the same day to minimize the impact on residents of the towns where work was conducted. At Veolia’s request, H2M provided additional construction observation staff to meet project needs.

Awards
ACEC National Recognition
ACEC NJ – Engineering Excellence 2021