Monmouth County Reclamation Center Breaks Ground o

HILLSBOROUGH and ISELIN, N.J., Oct. 25, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Yesterday, representatives of Monmouth County, NJ, Natural Systems Utilities (NSU) and Middlesex Water Company (MWC) marked the groundbreaking for a new leachate pretreatment facility at the Monmouth County Reclamation Center in Tinton Falls, New Jersey. NSU, its wholly-owned subsidiary, Applied Water Management (AWM), and MWC (Nasdaq: MSEX ) formed a partnership to design, construct and operate the facility under an initial 15-year contract with Monmouth County.

"A long term public private partnership with local New Jersey companies, NSU-AWM and Middlesex, enables the County to have in place a state of the art system to manage high strength wastewater with long-term reliability, flexibility and designed to accommodate future regulations," said Monmouth County's, Reclamation Center Superintendent , Richard Throckmorton.

The project includes a new wastewater treatment plant using an advanced membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology, pump station and pipeline that connects to the local sewer utility. The system will employ this advanced technology to provide a very high level of treatment that helps protect the environment by removing over 500,000 pounds of nitrogen and over 1,000 pounds of heavy metals from the waste stream every year. Currently, the leachate is hauled off-site by over 35 trucks a day. The elimination of this truck traffic will improve the quality of life for the local community and reduce air pollution, including thousands of pounds per day of greenhouse gas emissions.

Richard Cisterna, Executive Vice President from NSU-AWM added, "Using an advanced MBR reduces the amount of untreated leachate hauled off-site, significantly lowers operating costs to the County, and positively impacts the environment. NSU-AWM has decades of experience in designing, building and operating MBR systems in New Jersey and other states and are proud to be partnering with Monmouth County on this important project."

 "This project provides an environmentally sound solution that benefits Monmouth County residents and demonstrates the power behind public private partnerships in meeting municipal challenges," said Dennis W. Doll, Middlesex Water President and CEO.

About Natural Systems Utilities

Natural Systems Utilities has pioneered sustainable water and energy-centric solutions for municipal, industrial and institutional clients for 29 years. Visit www.naturalsystemsutilities.com for additional information.

About Middlesex Water Company

Middlesex Water Company, organized in 1897, provides regulated and unregulated water and wastewater utility services primarily in New Jersey and Delaware through various subsidiary companies. For information about Middlesex Water Company, visit www.middlesexwater.com .

Christelle Bruneau, Manager of Sales & Marketing Natural Systems Utilities 2 Clerico Lane Hillsborough, NJ 08844 908-359-5501 Bernadette Sohler, Vice President-Corporate Affairs Middlesex Water Company 1500 Ronson Road Iselin, NJ 08830 732-638-7549