June 27, 2002

NEW MERCK WATER DEAL TO NET $250,000 ANNUALLY FOR CITY

RAHWAY, NJ – 

Mayor James Kennedy announced this week

that the city recently signed a twenty-year agreement

with Merck and Co., Inc. to sell the pharmaceutical

giant approximately one million gallons of water per

day.  The Mayor noted that this agreement would provide the city with approximately $250,000 annually.  The City Council approved this agreement at its June12 regular meeting.

Merck has also agreed to reimburse the city some $250,000 to cap, seal and grout Municipal Well No. 6, which is located near the Rahway Middle School.  The well has not been used by the city for years.

Finally, Merck will fund a $250,000 project to construct a connection between Rahway’s municipal water system and that of Middlesex Water Company.  Rahway already shares a connection with Elizabethtown Water Company.   The additional connection will help Rahway and the surrounding communities provide clean water for each other in case of contamination, drought or other severe emergencies.

“This agreement will realize $750,000 in revenues this year to provide relief for our property taxpayers and make two improvements to our infrastructure that will protect the environment and ensure that our residents have access to safe drinking water at all times,” said Kennedy.  “For the next twenty years, this steady and reliable source of revenue will help us each year when drafting the budget and will contribute to our ongoing efforts to keep property taxes stable.”

Rahway’s municipal water rate of $18.43 per thousand cubic feet of water is the lowest in Union County and is one of the lowest in the entire state of New Jersey.