CAPE MAY, Oct. 19, 2026 — The City of Cape May marked the start of a $37.8 million project to replace its water treatment plant with a groundbreaking ceremony Monday morning at the plant site on Canning House Lane, the city says.
The current plant, built in 1998, serves Cape May, Cape May Point, West Cape May, parts of Lower Township and the U.S. Coast Guard Training Center. It supplies more than 237 million gallons of drinking water a year, according to the city.
The existing system struggles to keep up with peak summer demand and does not meet the state Department of Environmental Protection's firm-capacity requirements, according to the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank. The project adds a 3 million-gallon-a-day desalination facility and a 1 million-gallon-a-day iron removal facility at the plant site.
The project was designed by Artheon Inc., formerly CME Associates.
The first phase
Coppola Services Inc. was awarded the first phase for $11.98 million. It covers the plant building, electrical and pumping systems, treatment contact tanks, and the piping that connects the city's wells to its treated-water distribution system.
To offset that cost, the city secured a $3 million grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and $3 million in principal forgiveness from the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank, for $6 million in total assistance, the city says. The city closed in June on a $14 million New Jersey Water Bank loan for the project, which includes that principal forgiveness, the I-Bank says.
What comes next
Federal money expected in 2027 would pay for a reverse-osmosis desalination system and a fourth well, WPG Talk Radio has reported.
Sources: City of Cape May; New Jersey Infrastructure Bank; WPG Talk Radio.