More water woes for threatened residents.

The same company that was recently caught lying about replacing lead service lines in Newark is now being investigated by the federal government for doing the same thing in the capital city.

According to reporting from the Jersey Vindicator, crews from Trenton Water Works and the state DEP are in the process of reexamining some 32,000 led service lines that were allegedly replaced by the contractor jazz group Enterprise, which was charged with fraud by the feds for leaving lead pipes in the ground in Newark, but reporting they'd been removed.

For more on the.

Investigation, I'm joined by Jeff Pillets He's a contributing editor at the Jersey Vindicator.

Jeff, I'm so glad to talk to you about this.

Let me ask you this first from your investigation into this and from the actual investigation that's playing out.

Why do you think it is that jazz group?

JAS group, a company more known for real estate development, was selected to do this work in the first place.

And from what you can tell, does it indicate that this problem may be much more widespread than Newark and Trenton?

I think you've put your finger on on one of the essential mysteries of this story.

Why was this company chosen?

We couldn't find any construction or public works background to.

Speak of public.

Works contracting.

It did have some construction background building.

Houses, but it's.

Very unclear.

Why they are.

Why they've been chosen to do this work.

They don't have the experience for it.

I think you're going to see that investigated.

Looked at.

If it's not already being looked at.

I mean, obviously, there's political connections there.

They hired a lobbyist.

$30,000 last year.

They received tax breaks from the state or approval for tax.

Breaks from the state.

So I think.

That's one of the questions, where do they come from?

Who did they know?

Did they know anyone?

What was their experience?

We haven't been able to find any documents on their experience that were sent to Trenton.

So what does it say about the oversight of the state's capital city and the state right in these public contracts?

What are the potential health implications here, though?

Because this is not the first problem that Trenton has faced when it comes to drinking water.

In fact, we're on the heels of of one that we just discovered.

What are the health implications?

Well, you know, the.

Lead the let issue is.

Is a significant issue that Trenton residents.

As well as other.

Residents in this state, are being assaulted from different angles.

You know, the Trenton has lead in the soil from the historic.

Pottery.

Plants on the east side.

And that's going to become a pretty soon a Superfund site.

More than likely, you know, they.

Say that the water is okay.

The water has been okay, that.

They've been testing the.

Water the way they're supposed to test the water, that they've.

Been adding compounds to the water.

To reduce the effects of the corrosive.

Lead in the pipes.

But we just we just.

Don't really know because.

As you say, there's such poor oversight.

You don't really we don't really have a lot.

Of confidence.

That what they're supposed.

To be doing, they are doing.

The DEP is supposed to do and watching over.

This for several years.

They said not too long ago that everything was all right.

But it's clearly.

Not.

All right.

So I think that is an open question.

And that's a it's a serious question, too.

Well, and you say we because you're also a resident of Trenton.

So this is something that, you know, affects your family as well.

What's the public response been from the city, from the DEP, about their role in helping to investigate this?

The city has.

Had no response.

The DEP has had no response, not to us anyway.

There is there's quite.

An uproar in town here, you know, on local websites, on social media.

People are really incensed and they're wondering what.

Do we have to do to get.

Some oversight, to get some some.

Clarity.

And transparency out of city government.

The mayor here.

Was elected a couple of years ago partly.

On campaigning that he was going to clean up the.

Water works.

And make the water works functional again.

And it doesn't appear that he's he's really.

Succeeding at that.

Yeah.

So there's been quite an uproar here and here in Trenton alone.

Have you learned, Jeff, of what steps are being taken to make sure that the deadline replacement project is finalized, is completed?

Nothing.

There's been nothing taken yet.

They don't even have money to do this.

They told me they needed $1,000,000,000 in the next 15 years to do necessary capital improvements at the water plant, and that would include money for the lead line replace to finish the land line project, which is going to extend past the ten year deadline of 2031.

Journalist Jeff Pillets for us, uncovering a widespread issue with lead line replacement, fraudulent lead line replacement in the city of Trenton.

Jeff, thanks so much.

Thank you, Briana.

Appreciate it.