On March 8, 1968 the Stony Brook Regional Sewerage Group was organized pursuant to the Consolidated Municipal Services Act by the governing bodies of the Boroughs of Hopewell, Pennington and Princeton, and the Townships of Princeton and West Windsor to study the feasibility of a regional sewerage system. The results of the study indicated that it would be in the public interest to form a joint municipal organization.
In 1971 parallel ordinances were adopted by the Boroughs of Hopewell, Pennington and Princeton, and the Townships of Princeton, West Windsor and Hopewell and as a result, the Stony Brook Regional Sewerage Authority (SBRSA) was organized pursuant to the Sewerage Authorities Law (N.J.S.A 40:14A-1 et. seq.) as a body politic and corporate.
On November 1, 1977 the Amended Service Contract was executed between the SBRSA and Pennington Borough, Hopewell Borough, Princeton Borough, Princeton Township, South Brunswick Township, and West Windsor Township otherwise known as ‘participants’. Hopewell Township elected not to execute the service agreement at that time. The service contract called for the financing, construction, and operation of three (3) sewage treatment facilities providing wastewater treatment and disposal services for the six participants.
Prior to the formation of SBRSA, each participating municipality either owned and operated individual treatment facilities, or homes were served by individual subsurface disposal systems (septic systems).
Construction of the River Road Wastewater Treatment Plant began in 1976 and the plant began treating sewage in 1978. Flow to the “Downstream” River Road treatment plant is received from Princeton, South Brunswick Township, and West Windsor Township. In June of 1982 construction began on the two “Upstream” treatment plants, Pennington and Hopewell, and in 1984 each plant began treating wastewater from the boroughs of Pennington and Hopewell respectively.
For over 30 years the SBRSA has consistently provided superior wastewater treatment services, exceeding NPDES discharge permit requirements, while maintaining and controlling costs with prudent financial planning and cost saving measures.