Menu Contact Us PAY MY BILL Business Opportunities Customer Service Engineering Forms, Rates & Applications News ALERTS 4 History Statement Home / About Us / History Statement History of Development As a community grows from a settlement to the city, the development and expansion of its water supply must keep apace of the growth will be curtailed. Early settlers obtained their water supplies individually from wells or other sources, but as the settlement increases in population and industries are developed, the need for a public water supply becomes an obvious necessity. Paterson and the surrounding area developed rapidly after the establishment of the S. U. M. (The Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures) in 1791, and in 1849 the Passaic Consolidated Water was incorporated and secured franchises for the distribution of water to the Town of Paterson, and envious, then known as the Township of Manchester. The principal intake of the Company was completed in 1857 and was located on the Passaic River below the Great Falls in Paterson and the water supply was pumped directly from the River into the mains supplying the City. Subsequently the intake was moved to a point on the River immediately above the Falls and in 1899 was again moved and this time located at the present intake on the Passaic River at Little Falls, approximately five miles upstream from Paterson. Up to this date the water supply was taken directly from the River and distributed to consumers without treatment. As the communities grew and the demand for a better quality of water increased and in 1902 a Filtration Plant at Little Falls was completed and put into operation. This installation comprised the first large water filtration plant in the United States and is the same plant now being operated by the Passaic Valley Water Commission for the filtration and purification of its Passaic Supply. Contact Us Office Hours: Monday-Friday 7:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Main Office: Passaic Valley Water Commission 1525 Main Avenue Clifton, NJ 07011 Telephone: 973-340-4300 Fax: 973-340-5598 Emergency: By calling Customer Service 973-340-4300 at any time, day or night, Passaic Valley Water Commission will respond to water emergency situations for you. Translate »