Drinking water quality · 2024
· Verified
· PWSID NJ2004002
What's in Elizabeth, NJ tap water
Only 8 of 27 core regulated contaminants were reported for Elizabeth, NJ. What was measured is not clean — but most of the picture is missing.
- !2 contaminants at or above a federal limit — worst is PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid) at 1.9x
- !8 of 27 core regulated contaminants reported — 19 never appear in this report
- ✓No open federal violations
+How this score is calculated
Every system starts at 100. Points come off for measured levels, for the federal violation record, and for how much of the core regulated set the utility actually reported. All three inputs are the utility's own published numbers and EPA's own records.
- −44 contaminants at or above a federal limit
- −0 contaminants within 20% of a limit
- −0 open health-based violations
- −0 open monitoring / reporting violations
- −0 health-based violations resolved in the last 5 years
- −17 core regulated contaminants never reported (8/27)
A 90–100 · B 80–89 · C 70–79 · D 60–69 · F below 60. A system reporting under a third of the core set is capped at C however clean its numbers look — a short report is not a clean bill of health.
Full grading methodology, constant for constant →What to worry about
- PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid)1.9× the federal limit7.5 ng/L · limit 4 ng/L
Linked to cancer, liver damage, and immune effects; the EPA set an enforceable limit of 4 parts per trillion.
higher than 80% of U.S. systems
- PFOS (Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid)1.7× the federal limit6.8 ng/L · limit 4 ng/L
Linked to cancer, thyroid disease, and immune effects; the EPA set an enforceable limit of 4 parts per trillion.
higher than 70% of U.S. systems
+20 contaminants were measured and came in below the limitShow all
| Contaminant | Measured | Federal limit |
|---|---|---|
| Bromate | 7 ug/L | 10 ug/L |
| Turbidity | 0.4 NTU | 1 NTU |
| PFHxS (Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid) | 3.6 ng/L | 10 ng/L |
| Chloramine | 1.1 mg/L | 4 mg/L |
| Copper | 0.3 mg/L | 1.3 mg/L |
| Nitrate | 2 mg/L | 10 mg/L |
| Combined Radium | 1 pCi/L | 5 pCi/L |
| Lead | 0.002 mg/L | 0.015 mg/L |
| Barium | 0.01 mg/L | 2 mg/L |
| Aluminum | 0.02 mg/L | — |
| Iron | 0.02 mg/L | — |
| Manganese | 0.02 mg/L | — |
| Sodium | 39 mg/L | — |
| Perfluorobutanesulfonic acid | 2.1 ng/L | — |
| Hardness | 143 mg/L | — |
| TOC | 1.2 mg/L | — |
| 1,2,3-TCP | 0.02 ug/L | — |
| PFHxA | 3.6 ng/L | — |
| PFPeA | 4.3 ng/L | — |
| PFBA | 5.8999999999999995 ng/L | — |
What this report doesn't tell you
19 of the 27 contaminants a community water system normally reports do not appear anywhere in Elizabeth, NJ's data. Absent is not the same as absent-from-the-water — it means nobody published a number.
+Full detail: PFAS testing, water source, historical monitoring, and the federal violation record
PFAS — EPA UCMR5 (2023–2025)
2 PFAS compounds above EPA limits in Elizabeth, NJ
The EPA finalized the first-ever federal drinking-water limits for six PFAS compounds in April 2024. These numbers come straight from EPA's UCMR5 lab dataset — every U.S. system serving more than 3,300 people tested every PFAS sample at an entry point to its distribution system. PFAS not listed below were either tested and not detected, or not yet sampled.
PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid)
● Over EPA limit (1.9×)PFOS (Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid)
● Over EPA limit (1.7×)PFHxS (Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid)
● Below limitPFHxA
● Detected (no federal limit)PFPeA
● Detected (no federal limit)PFBA
● Detected (no federal limit)Where your water comes from · EPA SDWIS
Elizabeth, NJ's drinking water comes from ground water, drawn from 58 sources.
Source
- NETHERWOOD · 12
- GREEN BROOK · 8
- WELL · 6
- STONY BROOK · 5
- + 19 more
Treatment
- SPRINGFIELD PLANT
- PAPEN ROAD WELL PLANT
- GREENBROOK PLANT - JEFFERSON AVE.
- + 9 more
Distribution
Also buys water from NJ AMERICAN WATER - LIBERTY, NJ AMERICAN WATER - SHORT HILLS, and 2 more.
Compliance history
Federal Safe Drinking Water Act violation & enforcement records (EPA SDWIS). A violation is a regulatory determination by the state or EPA — separate from the measured levels above.
- Treatment technique violationHealth-based1 violation on record · most recent Sep 2010resolved
Source: EPA SDWIS / ECHO. View the full federal record on EPA ECHO ↗