Hoboken's mayor says the city's recent water woes have their roots in a contract signed two decades ago.
Several water main breaks and leaks last week left part of the city without water and forced the officials to issue a boil water advisory.
Mayor Dawn Zimmer said Wednesday that the city's aging water infrastructure has been neglected for decades. Zimmer said a contract signed by city officials in the 1990s was "unbelievably shortsighted" and put off improvements in favor of plugging budget gaps.
Zimmer said that deal between the city and United Water has not helped Hoboken. The water company stands to reap up to $100 million in profits from Hoboken water customers over the 30-year agreement, Zimmer said. Meanwhile, the city collected about $13 million from the agreement in the years between signing the deal and 2001, she said.
A United Water spokesman didn't immediately a message seeking comment.
