Saying it will significantly improve drinking water quality, the local ecosystem and service reliability in the township of West Milford, Veolia North America broke ground on two $38 million state-of-the-art wastewater treatment facilities.
Veolia, a leading environmental services company in the U.S., said the efforts will be transformative while strengthening the company’s commitment to sustainable infrastructure and environmental stewardship.
Township officials along with representatives of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection joined the groundbreaking ceremony at Bald Eagle Village, site of one of the new facilities. The second facility will be constructed in the Birch Hill neighborhood. Both projects are anticipated for completion by mid-2027.
Alan Weland, regional president for Veolia Water New Jersey, said the project will have great impact.
“Since acquiring these facilities from West Milford in 2018, we recognized the critical need to rebuild the wastewater treatment infrastructure,” he said. “The enhanced treatment systems will fundamentally improve effluent quality, ensuring cleaner water returns to the ecosystem. It’s a significant environmental advancement for the community.”
West Milford Mayor Michele Dale agreed.
“These projects represent a step forward for West Milford and one that will protect both residents and waterways,” she said. “We thank Veolia for investing in our community’s future.”
Veolia North America, a subsidiary of Veolia group, is the top-ranked environmental company in the U.S. for three consecutive years, and the country’s largest private water operator and technology provider as well as hazardous waste and pollution treatment leader.
The two new treatment plants are the latest improvements by Veolia in West Milford since it acquired aging and stressed drinking water and wastewater systems from the borough in late 2018. In addition to the $38 million for the new wastewater plants that will enhance environmental security in the region, the company has invested $36 million to modernize and rebuild facilities, improve drinking water quality and reliability, and upgrade treatment plants to meet regulatory standards.
The facilities will be equipped with Veolia’s advanced ZeeWeed ultrafiltration membrane technology, a system that provides highly effective contaminant removal while minimizing chemical usage and energy consumption. The expansion project exemplifies the goals of Veolia’s global GreenUp strategy, which strives to lead the ecological transformation by accelerating water quality improvement, hazardous waste treatment and disposal, decarbonization and technological innovation.
Weland said it’s a team effort.
“The borough recognized it could not tackle these projects on its own and we were pleased to have been chosen to take over and make these improvements,” he said. “Investing in resilient infrastructure isn’t just an option – it’s an imperative. We’re meeting today’s stringent environmental standards and we’re also preparing for tomorrow’s challenges.”
