New Jersey Together's Schools Water Fountains Project Reaches Completion:
1169 Drinking Fountains Installed

Thanks to the organizing efforts of New Jersey Together and the hard work of the Jersey City Public Schools staff, the Jersey City Municipal Utilities Authority, and many others, students and staff at every JCBOE school and early childhood learning center now have clean drinking water with new water fountains.


Background on their advocacy:

November 7, 2023—Success! Thanks to ongoing advocacy efforts, the Jersey City Board of Education voted at its October board meeting to allocate funds for completing water remediation in all remaining district-owned school buildings. By the end of the 2023-2024 school year, an additional 4,500 Jersey City Public Schools students will have access to modern drinking fountains with clean, potable water. (See the graphic below for details.)

Jersey City Together continues to monitor the progress of this "Group 3" initiative while also assessing the project's broader impact on school health. Investments in infrastructure that ensure students remain hydrated contribute to improved health, enhanced learning potential, and greater environmental sustainability. Those interested in supporting this effort can contact the Jersey City Together Education team at [email protected].

By the fall of 2023, approximately 23,000 students and 4,000 staff members across 32 Jersey City Public Schools started the school year with access to safe drinking water from newly installed fountains. Between 2019 and the summer of 2023, more than 780 single drinking fountains or units with water-bottle refilling stations were installed, ensuring that each pre-K and kindergarten classroom has a dedicated fountain and additional units are available in hallways.

Between June 2019 and July 2022, new city service lines, updated water lines within school buildings, and new drinking fountains were installed at fifteen schools. Seventeen additional schools were completed during the 2022-2023 school year. Jersey City Together organized water advocacy actions in October 2022 at PS 17 and June 2023 at Lincoln High School to highlight this progress. The organization appreciates the collaboration of the City of Jersey City, the Jersey City Municipal Utilities Authority (JCMUA), its vendor, Guarini Plumbing, and the Jersey City Public School District. Jersey City Together continues to urge the school district to expand these efforts to all public schools.

Since 2018, Jersey City Together has advocated for safe, accessible drinking water in every public school in Jersey City. As a result of this work:

  • 14,500 students at 18 schools can now access clean, safe drinking fountains.

  • 5,000 additional students will gain access during the 2023-2024 school year.

During an October 2022 event, Superintendent Dr. Norma Fernandez made three key commitments:

  1. Completion of Infrastructure Upgrades: Through a JCBOE-JCMUA Shared Services Agreement, she committed to completing water infrastructure improvements and installing new fountains at sixteen schools by June 30, 2023. These schools are highlighted in orange in the graphic below.

  2. Planning for Additional Schools: She pledged to develop a plan for twelve schools and early childhood centers not included in the current Shared Services Agreement with the JCMUA.

  3. Public Transparency: She committed to regularly sharing updates on water remediation progress at JCBOE meetings.

Jersey City Together acknowledges the efforts of Dr. Norma Fernandez of the Jersey City Public Schools and Mr. Joe Cunha of the Jersey City Municipal Utilities Authority in advancing this initiative. The advocacy team's dedication and leadership have resulted in the progress achieved. A timeline of these water advocacy efforts can be found [here].