The Power of Information

National Drinking Water Database


New Jersey

627 systems serving 8,619,862 people

This drinking water quality report shows results of tests conducted by water utilities in New Jersey, provided to the Environmental Working Group (EWG) by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. It is part of EWG's national database that includes 47,667 drinking water utilities and 20 million test results from 45 states and the District of Columbia. Water utilities nationwide detected more than 300 pollutants between 2004 and 2009. More than half of these chemicals are unregulated, legal in any amount. Despite this widespread contamination, the federal government invests few resources in protecting rivers, reservoirs, and groundwater from pollution in the first place. The information below summarizes drinking water quality for this state.



 
Chemicals
Water Utilities
Population Served
Detected Chemicals
119
627
8,612,455
Exceed health guidelines*
53
622
8,609,655
Exceed Legal Limits*
27
233
5,833,483
Unregulated chemicals detected
50
179
5,159,786
* Water utilities are noted as exceeding the legal limit if any test is above the maximum contaminant level (MCL). Most MCLs are based on annual averages so exceeding the MCL for one test does not necessarily indicate that the system is out of compliance.

53 Contaminants Exceeding Health Based Limits

Contaminants detected in New Jersey drinking water above health guidelines, according to an Environmental Working Group analysis of data obtained from state water authorities

Contaminant
Population
Number of Systems
At Any Level Above Health Limits At Any Level Above Health Limits
Bromodichloromethane8,450,2378,450,237435435
Dibromochloromethane8,422,6358,274,390440408
Total haloacetic acids (HAAs)8,226,5588,043,325366349
Dichloroacetic acid7,934,4977,934,497320320
Bromoform7,376,7217,376,721322322
Combined Uranium (mg/L)7,323,3647,323,364500500
Combined Radium (-226 & -228)7,287,7847,287,784489489
Lead (total)7,230,1017,230,101501501
Total trihalomethanes (TTHMs)8,525,9927,221,152510244
Radium-2266,976,9466,976,946444444

Water Utilities in New Jersey Reporting Chemicals Exceeding Health Guidelines

Water utilities in New Jersey reporting chemicals exceeding health guidelines, according to an Environmental Working Group analysis of data obtained from state water authorities, include:

System
Population
Chemicals tested
Chemicals found
Chemicals exceeding
health guidelines
NJ American Water Company217,2301694523
United Water- New Jersey253,0451794022
New Jersey American - Elizabethtown609,3871784019
Vineland Water & Sewer Utility33,0001153418
Collingswood Water Depar20,0001172918
Ramsey Water Dept16,6531153818
Sparta Twp Water Utility - Lake Mohawk15,726982817
Southeast Morris County Mua67,6571783917
Moorestown Water Dept19,000952617
Garfield Water Department29,7861153117
NJ American Water Company - Atlantic Div87,1541133017
Hawthorne Water Department21,0001173316
Lakewood Twp Mua17,201932616
Lacey Twp Mua26,2401152916
South Brunswick Twp W Di35,0001173116
Perth Amboy Water Department43,0001182516
Pennington W Dept2,6001152516
Paulsboro Water Department6,200902516
Livingston Twp Div of Water27,3911152716
Gloucester City W Dept12,6001182616

Sources of New Jersey Drinking Water Contaminants

The contaminants identified in New Jersey drinking water come from a wide variety of sources, including agriculture, industry, water treatment plants, and polluted storm runoff from urban areas.

119Total Contaminants Detected (2004 - 2008)
24Agricultural Pollutants
(pesticides, fertilizer, factory farms)

Arsenic (total), Cyanide, Nitrate & nitrite, Nitrate, Nitrite, Selenium (total), Carbaryl, Acetochlor, Atrazine, Dieldrin, Dacthal, 2,4-D, Bromomethane, Fluometuron, Dicamba, Iodomethane, Foaming agents (surfactants), 1,2-Dibromo-3-chloropropane (DBCP), m-Dichlorobenzene, o-Dichlorobenzene, p-Dichlorobenzene, 1,2-Dichloropropane, Monochlorobenzene (Chlorobenzene), Ethylbenzene

42Sprawl and Urban Pollutants
(road runoff, lawn pesticides, human waste)

Arsenic (total), Cadmium (total), Copper, Cyanide, Lead (total), Mercury (total inorganic), Nitrate & nitrite, Nitrate, Nitrite, Silver (total), Antimony (total), Carbaryl, Dacthal, 2,4-D, Trichlorofluoromethane, Acetone, Methyl ethyl ketone, Naphthalene, MTBE, Phenanthrene, Diethylphthalate, Pyrene, Di-n-butylphthalate, Butyl Benzylphthalate, Chrysene, Benzo[a]anthracene, Benzo[b]fluoranthene, Benzo[k]fluoranthene, Benzo[a]pyrene, Indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene, Foaming agents (surfactants), Xylenes (total), p-Xylene, Dichloromethane (methylene chloride), p-Dichlorobenzene, Tetrachloroethylene, Benzene, Bromobenzene, m-Xylene, o-Xylene, n-Propylbenzene

90Industrial Pollutants

Aluminum, Arsenic (total), Chlorite, Barium (total), Cadmium (total), Chromium (total), Cyanide, Lead (total), Manganese, Mercury (total inorganic), Nitrate & nitrite, Nitrate, Nitrite, Selenium (total), Silver (total), Antimony (total), Beryllium (total), Thallium (total), Asbestos, Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, Ethyl ether, Chloromethane, Dichlorodifluoromethane, Chloroethane, Trichlorofluoromethane, Hexachloroethane, Acetone, Methyl ethyl ketone, Naphthalene, MTBE, Tetrahydrofuran, 2-Hexanone, 4-Methyl-2-pentanone, Phenanthrene, Diethylphthalate, Pyrene, Di-n-butylphthalate, Ethyl Methacrylate, Butyl Benzylphthalate, Methyl methacrylate, Chrysene, Benzo[b]fluoranthene, Indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene, 1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene, cis-1,2-Dichloroethylene, Dibromomethane, 1,2,3-Trichloropropane, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, 1,3,5-Trimethylbenzene, Bromochloromethane, Iodomethane, Methyl acrylonitrile, Foaming agents (surfactants), Xylenes (total), p-Xylene, Dichloromethane (methylene chloride), p-Chlorotoluene, m-Dichlorobenzene, p-Dichlorobenzene, trans-1,4-Dichloro-2-butene, Vinyl chloride, 1,1-Dichloroethylene, 1,1-Dichloroethane, trans-1,2-Dichloroethylene, 1,2-Dichloroethane, 1,1,1-Trichloroethane, Carbon tetrachloride, 1,2-Dichloropropane, Trichloroethylene, 1,1,2-Trichloroethane, 1,1,1,2-Tetrachloroethane, Tetrachloroethylene, 1,1,2,2-Tetrachloroethane, Monochlorobenzene (Chlorobenzene), Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, Bromobenzene, m-Xylene, Styrene, o-Xylene, n-Propylbenzene, Alpha particle activity (excl radon and uranium), Alpha particle activity (incl. radon & uranium), Combined Uranium (mg/L), Combined Radium (-226 & -228), Radium-226, Radium-228, Combined Uranium (pCi/L), Gross beta particle activity (pCi/L)

27Water Treatment and Distribution Byproducts
(pipes and fixtures, treatment chemicals and byproducts)

Total trihalomethanes (TTHMs), Total haloacetic acids (HAAs), Chloroform, Bromodichloromethane, Dibromochloromethane, Dichloroacetic acid, Trichloroacetic acid, Bromoform, Dibromoacetic acid, Monochloroacetic acid, Monobromoacetic acid, Chlorite, Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, Cadmium (total), Chloromethane, Vinyl chloride, Asbestos, Dibromomethane, Bromochloromethane, Benzo[a]pyrene, Chloroethane, m-Dichlorobenzene, 2-Hexanone, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene, 1,1-Dichloropropanone, Benzo[k]fluoranthene, Benzo[a]anthracene

24Naturally Occurring
(naturally present but increased for lands denuded by sprawl, agriculture, or industrial development)

Nitrate, Copper, Nitrate & nitrite, Barium (total), Lead (total), Arsenic (total), Manganese, Radium-228, Radium-226, Alpha particle activity (excl radon and uranium), Combined Radium (-226 & -228), Gross beta particle activity (pCi/L), Combined Uranium (pCi/L), Chromium (total), Alpha particle activity (incl. radon & uranium), Combined Uranium (mg/L), Aluminum, Selenium (total), Nitrite, Radon, Mercury (total inorganic), Chloromethane, Cyanide, Silver (total)

51Unregulated Contaminants
EPA has not established a maximum legal limit in tapwater for these contaminants

Lead (total), Carbaryl, Acetochlor, Dieldrin, Ethyl ether, Dacthal, Chloromethane, Dichlorodifluoromethane, Bromomethane, Chloroethane, Trichlorofluoromethane, Hexachloroethane, Acetone, Methyl ethyl ketone, Naphthalene, MTBE, Tetrahydrofuran, 2-Hexanone, 4-Methyl-2-pentanone, Phenanthrene, Diethylphthalate, Pyrene, Di-n-butylphthalate, Ethyl Methacrylate, Butyl Benzylphthalate, Methyl methacrylate, Chrysene, Fluometuron, Benzo[a]anthracene, Benzo[b]fluoranthene, Benzo[k]fluoranthene, Indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene, Benzo[g,h,i]perylene, Dibromomethane, 1,2,3-Trichloropropane, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, 1,3,5-Trimethylbenzene, Bromochloromethane, Dicamba, Iodomethane, 1,1-Dichloropropanone, Methyl acrylonitrile, p-Chlorotoluene, m-Dichlorobenzene, trans-1,4-Dichloro-2-butene, 1,1-Dichloroethane, 1,1,1,2-Tetrachloroethane, 1,1,2,2-Tetrachloroethane, Bromobenzene, n-Propylbenzene, Radon

Testing Summary for New Jersey

The federal government has set standards for some of the pollutants found in tap water supplies.

Contaminants reported as tested by water suppliers in New Jersey185
 Contaminants tested due to federal law: 82
 Contaminants tested in addition to those required by federal law: 103

Violation Summary for New Jersey

Data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency includes the following violations of federal standards in New Jersey since 2004

Violation TypeNumber of Violations
Failure to monitor regularly6,743
Follow-up and Routine Tap Sampling286
Over maximum contaminant level, Average231
Failure to monitor, Routine Major (Coliform bacteria)126
Maximum contaminant level, Monthly (Coliform bacteria)123
Failure to monitor, Routine Minor (Coliform bacteria)102
Failure to monitor, Repeat Minor (Coliform bacteria)29
Initial Tap Sampling for Lead and Copper28
Failure to monitor, Repeat Major (Coliform bacteria)23
Over maximum contaminant level, Single Sample20
Public Notification Violation for National Primary Drinking Water Regulations16
Maximum contaminant level, Acute (Coliform bacteria)10
Monitoring and Reporting Disinfection Byproduct Rule9
Failure to report information to the public or state agency in the Consumer Confidence Report8
Operations Report6
Record Keeping Violation6
Treatment Technique No Certif. Operator5
Other Non-National Primary Drinking Water Regulations Potential Health Risks3
Treatment Technique (Surface Water Treatment Rule)3
Inadequate reporting of information to the public2
Variance/Exemption/Other Compliance2
Initial Water Quality Parameter Monitoring and Reporting2
Public Education2
Excess Turbidity at 0.3 NTU1
Failure to notify public of violation1
Failure to notify state agency1
Excess Turbidity at 1 NTU1