New Jersey Water Officials Charged With Poisoning Drinking Water New Jersey Water Officials Charged With Poisoning Drinking Water ...

Two top officials of the East Orange Water Commission have been charged with conspiring to close contaminated wells before monthly water tests so as to falsely report low levels of a regulated contaminant in drinking water supplied to customers, then opening the wells, allowing the chemical back into the water supply.The New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice obtained a state grand jury indictment Tuesday charging Harry Mansmann, 58, of Lawrenceville, the Commission’s executive director, and William Mowell, 51, of Wyckoff, the assistant executive director and engineer, with conspiracy.Mansmann and Mowell allegedly conspired to falsify mandatory testing of the EOWC’s water supply to hide elevated levels of the contaminant tetrachlorethene, or PERC, an industrial solvent used for dry cleaning, which is classified as a probable carcinogen. “It is absolutely unconscionable that the two top directors responsible for ensuring the quality and safety of drinking water supplied to tens of thousands of residents in East Orange and South Orange would deliberately manipulate sampling to hide the fact that the water supply contained elevated levels of a contaminant, as is alleged in this indictment,” said state Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa. “These defendants rightfully face serious criminal charges.” The East Orange Water Commission, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2010, supplies drinking water to East Orange, a city of about 64,000 people, and to South Orange, a village of about 16,000, both in Essex County. [ed notes;east orange is predominantly a low income city of n.j.