West Caldwell Water Department

Water Quality Snapshot: West Caldwell Water Department

West Caldwell Water Department is a local-owned community water system that delivers drinking water to 10,759 residents in West Caldwell, New Jersey (Essex County) through 3,835 service connections. Its water is drawn from surface water sources. EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System records 64 total violations for this system , of which 11 (17%) are health-based, meaning a contaminant exceeded an EPA Maximum Contaminant Level or a required treatment technique failed. A further 44 monitoring and reporting violations are on file. The most recent violation on record dates to 2025.

The most frequently cited contaminant at this system is Lead and Copper Rule, recorded in 19 violations (MR). Under EPA's UCMR5 PFAS monitoring program, 5 PFAS compounds were detected in samples collected from this system, with a maximum reported concentration of 8.3 ppt (parts per trillion). PFAS are persistent synthetic chemicals linked to health effects at very low exposure levels.

Across New Jersey, EPA tracks 3,428 public water systems serving 9,570,926 people, with 204,988 cumulative violations and 22,229 health-based violations on record. About 95% of systems in the state carry at least one violation, and state-wide the average per system is 59.8 violations. Statewide, 208 of 264 UCMR5-tested systems have reported PFAS detections (78.8%).

West Caldwell Water Department's 64 violations sit above the New Jersey average.

All figures above are sourced directly from EPA SDWIS and UCMR5 public data releases and are updated as EPA publishes new reporting cycles.