States → New Jersey
State profile · EPA SDWIS + UCMR5
New Jersey Drinking Water Quality
3,428 public water systems serve 9,570,926 people across New Jersey, with every Safe Drinking Water Act violation and UCMR5 PFAS result on record.
- 3,428
- Water systems
- 204,988
- Total violations
- 95%
- Systems w/ a violation
- 78.8%
- PFAS detection rate
The verdict
Across New Jersey, 3,256 of 3,428 water systems (95.0%) carry at least one EPA violation, and 208 of 264 UCMR5-tested systems show PFAS.
- 204,988
- Total EPA violations on record
- 11%
- Health-based (MCL / treatment)
- 95.0%
- Systems with ≥1 violation
- 78.8%
- UCMR5 PFAS detection rate
Water Systems
3,428
Total Violations
204,988
Violation Rate
95%
PFAS Detection
78.8%
208 of 264 tested
Violation Composition
How New Jersey's 204,988 violations break down by type, per EPA SDWIS classification.
Health-based (22,229) Monitoring/Reporting (182,759)
| Metric | Value | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Public water systems | 3,428 | - |
| Population served | 9,570,926 | - |
| Total violations | 204,988 | 100% |
| Health-based violations | 22,229 | 10.8% |
| Systems with violations | 3,256 | 95.0% |
| PFAS detection rate | 208 of 264 | 78.8% |
Health-based violations indicate the contaminant exceeded an EPA Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) or treatment-technique requirement. Monitoring/reporting violations indicate procedural issues (missed tests, late reports) - not necessarily a contamination event.
Largest Water Systems
Veolia Water New Jersey Hackensack
Haworth, NJ · 792,713 served
NJ American Water - Raritan
Brtidgewater, NJ · 615,430 served
NJ American Water - Coastal North
Colts Neck, NJ · 377,613 served
Passaic Valley Water Commission
Clifton, NJ · 310,483 served
Newark Water Department
Newark, NJ · 294,274 served
NJ American Water - Western
Delran, NJ · 264,586 served
Jersey City Mua
Hoboken, NJ · 262,000 served
Middlesex Water Company
Iselin, NJ · 233,376 served
Wildwood City Water Department
Rio Grande, NJ · 218,472 served
NJ American Water - Short Hills
Short Hills, NJ · 217,230 served
Trenton Water Works
Trenton, NJ · 217,000 served
Atlantic City Mua
Atlantic City, NJ · 152,415 served
NJ American Water - Liberty
Bound Brook, NJ · 134,000 served
NJ American Water - Ocean City
Egg Harbor Township, NJ · 127,000 served
Veolia Water New Jersey Toms River
Toms River, NJ · 123,184 served
NJ American Water - Atlantic County
Egg Harbor Township, NJ · 120,146 served
Brick Township Mua
Brick Twp, NJ · 86,898 served
East Orange Water Commission
East Orange, NJ · 75,000 served
Old Bridge Mua
Old Bridge, NJ · 68,000 served
City of Bayonne
Kearny, NJ · 63,000 served
Most Violations
#1 Washington Township Mua Turnersville
1,585 #2 Stillwater Water District 1 Budd Lake
1,024 #3 Clinton W Dept Clinton
995 #4 New Lisbon Development Ctr New Lisbon
971 #5 Bridgeton City Water Dept Bridgeton
926 #6 350 Sparta Complex Montville
915 #7 Flemington Water Department Flemington
846 #8 Waldwick Water Dept Waldwick
828 #9 Monroe Municipal Utilities Authority Williamstown
818 #10 Flying W Airport Medford
817 #11 Winslow Twp Dmu Braddock
812 #12 New Brunswick W Dept New Brunswick
797 #13 Ridgewood Water Ridgewood
776 #14 Sparta Twp Water Utility - Lake Mohawk Sparta
765 #15 Ramsey Water Dept Ramsey
746 Counties in New Jersey
Bergen
49 systems · 1,133,521 served
· 6,905 violations
Essex
25 systems · 889,677 served
· 4,186 violations
Union
7 systems · 778,855 served
· 855 violations
Ocean
214 systems · 721,554 served
· 10,195 violations
Monmouth
285 systems · 715,264 served
· 9,403 violations
Burlington
293 systems · 674,987 served
· 19,188 violations
Middlesex
35 systems · 668,615 served
· 2,949 violations
Cape May
165 systems · 535,566 served
· 7,106 violations
Passaic
151 systems · 506,286 served
· 10,406 violations
Atlantic
195 systems · 452,348 served
· 8,907 violations
Morris
304 systems · 450,101 served
· 24,499 violations
Hudson
6 systems · 435,495 served
· 332 violations
Mercer
97 systems · 323,840 served
· 7,431 violations
Gloucester
181 systems · 294,691 served
· 13,479 violations
Camden
102 systems · 282,373 served
· 7,095 violations
Sussex
479 systems · 202,616 served
· 27,540 violations
Somerset
93 systems · 118,171 served
· 2,716 violations
Cumberland
126 systems · 117,254 served
· 9,453 violations
Warren
225 systems · 109,996 served
· 9,973 violations
Hunterdon
291 systems · 91,514 served
· 16,859 violations
Salem
105 systems · 68,202 served
· 5,511 violations
Drinking Water Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
How many water systems are in New Jersey? ▼
New Jersey has 3,428 public water systems serving approximately 9,570,926 people. These include community water systems, non-transient non-community systems, and transient non-community systems regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
How many drinking water violations are in New Jersey? ▼
New Jersey has 204,988 total drinking water violations on record, with 22,229 classified as health-based violations. 95.0% of water systems in the state have at least one violation.
Has PFAS been found in New Jersey drinking water? ▼
Of 264 water systems tested for PFAS in New Jersey, 208 had PFAS detected, a 78.8% detection rate. PFAS are persistent "forever chemicals" that do not break down in the environment.
What is the violation rate for New Jersey water systems? ▼
New Jersey's violation rate is 95%. This measures the percentage of public water systems that have at least one recorded violation in the EPA SDWIS database, including both health-based and monitoring/reporting violations.
Where does this New Jersey water data come from? ▼
All drinking water data comes from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) and the UCMR5 PFAS monitoring program. SDWIS is the federal database that tracks compliance for all public water systems regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
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.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Related
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.