Yesterday, Tehsuan Glover sat down with Mayor Ras J. Baraka at 3rd Space for another Newark: On Newark episode, to discuss the scope of Newark’s water issues, including the history of Newark’s water service, and what the City of Newark has been doing to ultimately solve the problem and remove all lead service lines throughout Newark.
Tonight, the City of Newark will host a town hall: “State of Water” tonight, Wednesday, October 2, at 6 p.m., in the Prudential Hall of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, located at 1 Center Street.
Prior to the town hall, there will be a Health Fair held at NJPAC where the Department of Health and Community Wellness will offer the following services: lead screenings in a mobile van; blood pressure and glucose screenings; health education; social services, dental, and WIC information; services available at the Shani Baraka Women’s Resource Center; Integrity House; Newark Beth Israel Hospital; Newark YMCA; Rutgers Behavioral Health; Clean Water Action; Water Quality Association; Office of Sustainability, and giveaways of “healthy home” items.
In addition, the Department of Water and Sewer Utilities will give out filter cartridges for lead filters and sign up eligible residents to have their lead service lines. They will also provide information on other programs, like Adopt-A-Basin, and demonstrations on how to correctly use the water filters.
“The purpose of this event is to provide our residents with the facts of the state of Newark’s water and what our plan is to move Newark forward. We’ve incorporated the Health Fair to ensure that residents have access to critical services. It is essential that we provide all residents with all of the tools they need to be full partners in our efforts to replace every lead service line and make Newark a healthier City,” Mayor Baraka said.
