PlainWater
Counties → New Jersey

Essex County, New Jersey

Water Systems
25
Population Served
889,677
Total Violations
4,186
644 health-based
PFAS Detected
15
of 18 tested

Violation Analysis

100.0%
Systems with Violations
167.4
Avg Violations per System
15.4%
Health-Based Violations

Water Source Types

SW
20 systems (80%)
GW
5 systems (20%)

PFAS Contamination

18
Systems Tested
15
PFAS Detected
83.3%
Detection Rate

PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are persistent chemicals found in drinking water. The EPA has set enforceable limits for several PFAS compounds under UCMR5 monitoring.

Compliance Snapshot

Essex New Jersey water systems by violation status, EPA SDWIS records.

No violations on record (0) One or more violations (25)

Violation history is cumulative, many flagged systems have already returned to compliance. Detail pages show per-system context.

Water Systems

System Name Population Violations PFAS
Newark Water Department 294,274 349 Detected
NJ American Water - Short Hills 217,230 31 Detected
East Orange Water Commission 75,000 316 Detected
Bloomfield Water Department 47,315 368 Clean
Montclair Water Bureau 40,150 56 Detected
Belleville Water Dept 35,129 486 Clean
Orange Water Dept 30,134 136 Detected
Nutley Water Dept 29,500 144 Clean
Livingston Twp Div of Water 27,391 547 Detected
South Orange Water Department 16,964 127 Detected
Verona Water Department 13,641 161 Detected
Cedar Grove Water Dept 12,900 130 Detected
West Caldwell Water Department 10,759 64 Detected
Caldwell Water Dept 9,027 82 Detected
Glen Ridge Water Dept 7,681 45 Detected
Fairfield Water Dept 7,400 111 Detected
North Caldwell Water Dep 6,000 80 Detected
Roseland Water Dept 5,300 83 Detected
Essex Fells Water Dept 2,200 143 -
State Street Grill 835 16 -
Essex Fells Water Hilltop System 354 23 -
North Caldwell - Hilltop 208 45 -
The High Lawn 135 407 -
M&t Restaurant 110 227 -
Mainland Development Corp 40 9 -

Other Counties in New Jersey

Bergen County
49 systems · 1,133,521 served · 6,905 violations
Union County
7 systems · 778,855 served · 855 violations
Ocean County
214 systems · 721,554 served · 10,195 violations
Monmouth County
285 systems · 715,264 served · 9,403 violations
Burlington County
293 systems · 674,987 served · 19,188 violations
Middlesex County
35 systems · 668,615 served · 2,949 violations

Drinking Water Guides

Frequently Asked Questions

How many water violations are in Essex County? ▼
Essex County has 4,186 total drinking water violations across 25 water systems, of which 644 are health-based violations. 100.0% of systems have at least one violation.
How many people get water from Essex County systems? ▼
Water systems in Essex County serve approximately 889,677 people through 25 public water systems.
Has PFAS been detected in Essex County water? ▼
Of 18 water systems tested for PFAS in Essex County, 15 had PFAS detected (83.3% detection rate).
What types of water sources supply Essex County? ▼
Water systems in Essex County use SW (20 systems), GW (5 systems) as their primary water sources.
Are health-based violations serious? ▼
Health-based violations indicate that drinking water exceeded Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) set by the EPA or failed treatment technique requirements. 15.4% of Essex County's violations are health-based. Not all violations indicate immediate health risk, but they require corrective action.
Data Sources & Methodology

Drinking water violation data from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS). PFAS testing data from the UCMR5 monitoring program. SDWIS tracks all public water systems regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Violations are categorized as health-based (Maximum Contaminant Level exceedances, treatment technique failures) or monitoring/reporting violations. Not all violations indicate an immediate health risk.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from EPA SDWIS and UCMR5 PFAS monitoring data. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainWater Editorial

Every figure on PlainWater is rendered directly from EPA SDWIS drinking-water data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on EPA SDWIS data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.