UPDATED, Nov. 7, 10 a.m: Middlesex Water Company Lifts Boil Water Advisory

10:00 a.m. November 7, 2012 MIDDLESEX WATER COMPANY LIFTS BOIL WATER ADVISORY

ISELIN, NJ, November 7, 2012 (10:00 a.m.) The boil water advisory issued Monday night by Middlesex Water Company for its customers in Carteret, Clark, Edison, Highland Park, Metuchen, the Melrose section of Sayreville, South Amboy, South Plainfield, and all sections of Woodbridge has been lifted. Customers in those municipalities no longer have to boil water before consumption as water quality results show that the water meets all state and federal water quality standards.

THE BOIL WATER ADVISORY IS LIFTED and the following measures are strongly encouraged at this time:

•Run your water faucets for 3-5 minutes to flush your service connection and interior plumbing with water from the service main.

•Empty and clean your automatic ice makers and water chillers.

•Drain and refill your hot water heater if the temperature is set below 113 degrees Fahrenheit.

•Service connections with a water softener/cartridge filters should be run through a regeneration cycle or other procedures recommended by the manufacturer.

•Water reservoirs in tall buildings should be drained and refilled.

Customers with questions should contact Customer Service at 732-634-1500.

Middlesex Water Company had issued the precautionary boil-water advisory after it lost power and secondary power at its intake station which resulted in significant loss of water pressure throughout its distribution system. Although power has since been partially restored to its intake and main treatment plant, the Company remains cautiously optimistic about sustaining reliable power supply at these locations and getting power restored to its other operating facilities which lost power or remain on emergency back- up generation. Customers are urged to continue to conserve water until further notice as previously directed by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

Middlesex Water Company, (NASDAQ:MSEX) organized in 1897, is an investor-owned water utility, serving customers in central and southern New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania. For additional information regarding Middlesex Water Company, visit its website at www.middlesexwater.com or facebook.com/MIDDLESEXWATER

UPDATE, Nov. 6, 4:50 a.m.:

November 6, 2012 (ISELIN, NJ) 4:50 a.m. Primary power was restored to Middlesex Water Company’s intake at approximately 2:00 a.m. Water pressures can be expected to slowly increase over the next 8 hours assuming electric power can be sustained. Tap water may initially appear cloudy, this is harmless and is simply the result of excess air in the water mains resulting from the initial loss of water pressure.

Middlesex Water customers in Carteret, Clark, Edison, Highland Park, Metuchen, the Melrose section of Sayreville, South Amboy, South Plainfield, and all sections of Woodbridge had been affected by the initial loss in pressure. Customers are urged to continue to conserve water until further notice as previously directed by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

Clark customers include:

Hayes Street

Holland Drive

State Street

Sherold Road

“We appreciate the understanding and cooperation of our customers as the employees of Middlesex Water Company continue to work tirelessly to address the ongoing challenges associated with the widespread loss of electric power to our company posed by Hurricane Sandy,” said Dennis W. Doll, Middlesex Water President and CEO.

Due to significant loss of system pressure, customers in the affected communities or sections of communities are advised to boil water before drinking. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection requires the following language to be included in any boil water advisory:

The Department of Environmental Protection has determined that a potential or actual threat to the quality of water being provided to you currently exists. Therefore until further notice, bring tap water to a rolling boil for one minute and allow to cool before using for consumption; drinking, ice cubes, washing vegetables and fruit, and for brushing teeth. Please continue to boil your water until you are notified that the water quality is acceptable.

We also recommend the following steps as of the time of this advisory:

-Throw away uncooked food or beverages or ice cubes if made with tap water made after the time of the issuance of this advisory;

-Keep boiled water in the refrigerator for drinking;

-Rinse hand-washed dishes for a minute in diluted bleach (one tablespoon of household bleach per gallon of tap water) or clean your dishes in a dishwasher using the hot wash cycle and dry cycle.

-Do not swallow water while you are showering or bathing;

-Provide pets with boiled water after cooling;

-Do not use home filtering devices in place of boiling or using bottled water; most home water filters will not provide adequate protection from microorganisms;

-Use only boiled water to treat minor injuries.

Individuals with severely compromised immune systems, infants, or the elderly may be at increased risk and should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers. General guidelines on ways to lessen the risk of infection by microbes are available from EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at (800) 426-4791.

Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly, for example people in apartments, nursing homes, schools and businesses. You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.

Middlesex Water will be issuing updates, through media sources, municipal and health departments, the home page of its website at www.middlesexwater.com and through its Facebook and Twitter site. Customers seeking more information may call the company at 732-634-1500.

November 5, 2012 (ISELIN, NJ) 7:00 p.m. Due to a power failure at its intake station in New Brunswick, NJ and failure of back-up generation at that location, Middlesex Water Company is advising its customers in Carteret, Clark, Edison, Highland Park, Metuchen, South Amboy, South Plainfield, and all sections of Woodbridge to immediately store an ample supply of water for drinking and sanitation purposes until further notice.

Clark customers include:

Hayes Street

Holland Drive

State Street

Sherold Road

The company’s treatment plant and intake station had been on emergency generation since Monday, October 29 and both facilities were restored to normal electric power over the weekend. However, late this afternoon, the intake station, which draws in the water supply, lost power again. In addition, the emergency standby generator at the intake also malfunctioned rendering it inoperable. Over the next few hours, customers can expect to see significant drops in water pressure and loss of water service. Customers should store a minimum of 3 gallons of tap water for each person, each day in addition to supplies of bottled water they may have secured as part of their storm preparations.

The power company is working to restore power as quickly as possible, potentially by early morning Tuesday.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection requires the following language to be included in any boil water advisory:

The Department of Environmental Protection has determined that a potential or actual threat to the quality of water being provided to you currently exists. Therefore until further notice, bring tap water to a rolling boil for one minute and allow to cool before using for consumption; drinking, ice cubes, washing vegetables and fruit, and for brushing teeth. Please continue to boil your water until you are notified that the water quality is acceptable. We also recommend the following steps as of the time of this advisory:  Throw away uncooked food or beverages or ice cubes if made with tap water made after the time of the issuance of this advisory;  Keep boiled water in the refrigerator for drinking;  Rinse hand-washed dishes for a minute in diluted bleach (one tablespoon of household bleach per gallon of tap water) or clean your dishes in a dishwasher using the hot wash cycle and dry cycle.
 Do not swallow water while you are showering or bathing;  Provide pets with boiled water after cooling;  Do not use home filtering devices in place of boiling or using bottled water; most home water filters will not provide adequate protection from microorganisms;  Use only boiled water to treat minor injuries.

Individuals with severely compromised immune systems, infants, or the elderly may be at increased risk and should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers. General guidelines on ways to lessen the risk of infection by microbes are available from EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at (800) 426-4791.

Please share this information with all the other people who drink this water, especially those who may not have received this notice directly, for example people in apartments, nursing homes schools and businesses. You can do this by posting this notice in a public place or distributing copies by hand or mail.

Please note a boil water advisory is a standard procedure whenever a treatment failure occurs which may compromise the quality of your drinking water. Middlesex Water will provide information as to when the advisory is lifted.
Middlesex Water will be issuing updates, through media sources, municipal and health departments, the home page of its website at www.middlesexwater.com and through its Facebook and Twitter site. Customers seeking more information may call the company at 732-634-1500

Media Contact: Bernadette M. Sohler Vice President - Corporate Affairs Middlesex Water Company 1500 Ronson Road Iselin, NJ 08830 Phone: (732) 634-1500 Ext. 1281 Fax:(732) 638-7515 bsohler@middlesexwater.com