Is Newark Water Department Tap Water Safe? Quality Report

Water source: Surface water
Ownership: Local government
Counties served: Essex

Compliance record

Formal violations the EPA has on file for this supplier. A health-based violation means a contaminant limit or a required treatment was breached; the rest are monitoring or reporting failures — still violations, but not a measured health risk.

119

health-based violations

341

violations on file

still open

Violation	Type	Status	Period
TT	Health-based	Resolved	2022-07-01 → 2022-12-31
TT	Health-based	Resolved	2022-07-01 → 2022-12-31
TT	Health-based	Resolved	2022-07-01 → 2022-12-31
TT	Health-based	Resolved	2022-07-01 → 2022-12-31
TT	Health-based	Resolved	2022-07-01 → 2022-12-31
TT	Health-based	Resolved	2022-07-01 → 2022-12-31
TT	Health-based	Resolved	2020-09-01 → 2020-09-30
TT	Health-based	Resolved	2020-09-01 → 2020-09-30
TT	Health-based	Resolved	2020-09-01 → 2020-09-30
TT	Health-based	Resolved	2020-09-01 → 2020-09-30

PFAS detected

PFAS are industrial “forever chemicals”. These are the EPA's latest nationwide test results (2023–2025).

Contaminant	Max	Detection rate	Period
PFOA	0.0053 µg/L	4/8	2023

Other contaminants detected

Each bar shows the measured level as a share of the EPA limit: green is well under, amber is close to it, red is over. For lead and copper the limit applies to exactly the 90th-percentile figure shown, so red there means a real exceedance. For everything else the limit applies to a running annual average while the figure is the 95th percentile of this system's samples — over 100% is worth reading, but is not by itself a violation. Where a single sample came in higher than that percentile, it is noted under the bar. Formal violations are listed separately.

Contaminant	Level vs EPA limit	Detection rate	Source	Period
Lead	72.37 µg/L 482% of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 15 µg/L worst single sample: 1420 µg/L	994/1614	SYR4	2012–2019
Copper	280.2 µg/L 22% of the EPA limit 1300 µg/L worst single sample: 1464 µg/L	689/732	SYR4	2012–2019
Chloroform	93.37 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 140 µg/L	407/408	SYR4	2012–2019
Bromodichloromethane	11.5 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 15 µg/L	403/408	SYR4	2012–2019
TTHM	102.73 µg/L 128% of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 80 µg/L worst single sample: 152 µg/L	399/400	SYR4	2012–2019
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)	87.1 µg/L 145% of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 60 µg/L worst single sample: 130.6 µg/L	381/389	SYR4	2012–2019
Dichloroacetic Acid	41.33 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 59 µg/L	378/389	SYR4	2012–2019
Trichloroacetic Acid	50.395 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 78.3 µg/L	368/389	SYR4	2012–2019
Dibromochloromethane	1.6 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 2.19 µg/L	220/407	SYR4	2012–2019
Dibromoacetic Acid	3.211 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 5 µg/L	95/389	SYR4	2012–2019
Monochloroacetic Acid	3.9045 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 4.4 µg/L	52/389	SYR4	2012–2019
Lead	0.0 mg/L 0% of the EPA limit 0.0150 mg/L	30/30	LCR	2025
Monobromoacetic Acid	8.675 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 14.2 µg/L	26/389	SYR4	2012–2019
Barium	8 µg/L 0.4% of the EPA limit 2000 µg/L	7/8	SYR4	2012–2019
Fluoride	89.4 µg/L 2.2% of the EPA limit 4000 µg/L worst single sample: 92 µg/L	5/8	SYR4	2012–2019
Nitrate	122 µg/L 1.2% of the EPA limit 10000 µg/L	4/16	SYR4	2012–2019
Bromoform	0.5000 µg/L No EPA limit set	1/407	SYR4	2012–2019
Cyanide	2 µg/L 1% of the EPA limit 200 µg/L	1/8	SYR4	2012–2019
Combined Radium (-226 And -228)	1.5 pCi/L 30% of the EPA limit 5 pCi/L	1/1	SYR4	2017

78 contaminants tested, none detected

1,1,1-Trichloroethane1,1,2-Trichloroethane1,1-Dichloroethylene1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene1,2-DIBROMO-3-CHLOROPROPANE1,2-Dichloroethane1,2-Dichloropropane11Cl-PF3OUdS2,4,5-TP2,4-D4:2 Fts6:2 Fts8:2 Fts9Cl-PF3ONSAdonaAntimony, TotalArsenicAsbestosAtrazineBhc-GammaBenzeneBenzo(A)PyreneBeryllium, TotalChlorobenzeneCadmiumCarbon TetrachlorideChromiumDichloromethaneDi(2-ethylhexyl) AdipateDi(2-ethylhexyl) PhthalateDinosebEthylene DibromideEndrinEthylbenzeneHfpo-DaHeptachlorHeptachlor EpoxideHexachlorocyclopentadieneLassoMercuryMethoxychlorNetfosaaNfdhaNmefosaaPfbaPFBSPfdaPfdoaPfeesaPfhpaPfhpsPfhxaPFHXSPfmbaPfmpaPFNAPFOSPfpeaPfpesPftaPftrdaPfunaPentachlorophenolPicloramSeleniumSimazineStyreneTetrachloroethyleneThallium, TotalTolueneTrichloroethyleneVinyl ChlorideXylenes, Totalcis-1,2-DichloroethyleneLithiumO-DichlorobenzeneP-Dichlorobenzenetrans-1,2-Dichloroethylene

Utility contact

Contact: ADEEM, KAREEM
Phone: 973-733-6303

Frequently asked questions about Newark Water Department

Is Newark Water Department tap water safe to drink?

EPA monitoring detected 20 contaminants in Newark Water Department's water. A detection isn't the same as a violation — most levels are within federal limits. See each level and source above, and the utility's annual Consumer Confidence Report for its official compliance status.

What contaminants were detected in Newark Water Department's water?

EPA monitoring detected Lead, Copper, Chloroform, Bromodichloromethane, TTHM, and others. The full list with the level and data source for each is above.

How many people does Newark Water Department serve?

Newark Water Department reports serving 294,274 people in New Jersey, per its EPA record.

Has Newark Water Department had any water quality violations?

The EPA has 341 violations on file for Newark Water Department, of which 119 are health-based (a contaminant limit or required treatment was breached) and 0 remain open. The rest are monitoring or reporting failures.

Where does this data come from?

Every figure is official EPA drinking-water monitoring — the Lead & Copper Rule, the UCMR-5 nationwide testing program, and the EPA Six-Year Review — not our own testing. Each number is labelled with its source and period.