Photo Courtesy of Erin L. Banes Sakeema James, center, manager of government and regulatory affairs at NJAW, and Matt Csik, right, director of water quality and environmental compliance at NJAW, accept Commerce Magazine’s Environmental Award from CIANJ board Chairperson Bill Hanson, left.
Sakeema James, center, manager of government and regulatory affairs at NJAW, and Matt Csik, right, director of water quality and environmental compliance at NJAW, accept Commerce Magazine’s Environmental Award from CIANJ board Chairperson Bill Hanson, left.
CAMDEN, NJ — New Jersey American Water was recognized by the Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey as one of this year’s recipients of Commerce Magazine’s annual Environmental Awards. The awards were presented during a socially distanced breakfast ceremony, and the winners were profiled in the April issue of Commerce.
NJAW was recognized in the sustainable manufacturing processes category for its proactive leadership in designing and testing the use of strong-base anion exchange resin at its Short Hills Station to treat emerging compounds effectively, including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. Unlike other technologies, such as granular-activated carbon or reverse osmosis, this system does not require any backwashing or pre-rinsing, and therefore produces no residual waste. The system is believed to be the first large-scale treatment of PFAS removal using this resin.
“When we detected trace levels of PFAS in our Short Hills Station’s groundwater supply, we fast-tracked the installation of this treatment nearly nine months ahead of the new PFAS regulations set by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection,” said Matt Csik, director of water quality and environmental compliance at NJAW. “The use of this leading technology enables us to continue to meet state requirements for safe drinking water within our Passaic Basin System while minimizing waste in the process.”
NJAW also received the Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award for this project in December 2020 and the Alliance for Action’s Leading Infrastructure Award in February 2021 for a similar project at its Springfield Well Field.
CIANJ’s Commerce Magazine Environmental Award celebrates leadership and stewardship of the environment by recognizing organizations and companies from around the state that have made environmental accomplishments during the last year. To learn more about CIANJ and the Environmental Awards, visit www.CIANJ.org.
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