Ou r d rinkin g w ater Is r eg ula ted

201

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PW

S ID #

NJ0

719

001

Community Participation

We want our valued customers to be informed about their water 

utility. Regularly scheduled Board of Water Commissioners 

meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month at 99 

South Grove Street, East Orange, at 5:00 pm.

PWS ID #NJ0719001

2015       

      

Annual Drinking

Water Quality

             Report

(Reporting year 2014)

Presented by the

City of East Orange

Water Department

Board of Water Commissioners

All Drinking Water May Contain Contaminants

Drinking water, including bottled water, may reasonably be ex-

pected to contain at least small amounts of some contaminants. 

The presence of contaminants does not necessarily indicate that 

water poses a health risk. In order to ensure that tap water is safe 

to drink, EPA prescribes regulations which limit the amount of 

certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. 

Food and Drug Administration regulations establish limits for 

contaminants in bottled water which must provide the same pro-

tection for public health. More information about contaminants 

and potential health effects can be obtained by calling the EPA’s 

Safe Drinking Water Hotline [phone]).

Lead in Home Plumbing

If present, elevated levels of lead can cause serious health prob-

lems, especially for pregnant women and young children. Lead 

in drinking water is primarily from materials and components 

associated with service lines and home plumbing. The City of 

East Orange Water Department is responsible for providing 

high quality drinking water, but cannot control the variety of 

materials used in plumbing components. When your water has 

been sitting for several hours, you can minimize the potential 

for lead exposure by flushing your tap for 30 seconds to 2 min-

utes before using water for drinking or cooking. If you are con-

cerned about lead in your water, you may wish to have your water 

tested. Information on lead in drinking water, testing methods, 

and steps you can take to minimize exposure is available from 

the Safe Drinking Water Hotline or at www.epa.gov/safewater/

lead.

There When You Need Us

The City of East Orange Water Department (EOWD) is 

pleased to present its Annual Water Quality Report, covering 

all testing performed between January 1 and December 31, 

2014. Over the years, the Board of Water Commissioners, in 

conjunction with the various divisions within the Department, 

has been dedicated to producing drinking water that exceeds 

all state and federal standards.

The EOWD is proud to continue 

delivering the best quality drinking 

water to you, our customers. As 

new challenges to drinking 

water safety emerge, the 

EOWD will remain vigilant 

in meeting the goals 

of safe drinking water, 

source water protection, 

water conservation, and 

community education. The 

EOWD will uphold the 

needs of all our water users, 

with the highest levels of 

integrity and professionalism.

We encourage you to share 

your thoughts with us on the 

information contained in this 

report. Should you have any 

questions or concerns about 

your water, please contact us at  

[phone].

99 South Grove Street

East Orange, NJ 07018

City of East Orange

Water Department

Board of Water Commissioners

Our Drinking Water Is Regulated

The City of East Orange Water Department is pleased to share 

this report with you. This report is a summary of the quality of 

the water we provide our customers. The analysis covers January 

1 through December 31, 2014, and was made by using the data 

from the most recent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 

(EPA) required tests and is presented in the attached pages. We 

hope this information helps you become more knowledgeable 

about what’s in your drinking water.

Where Do We Get Our Drinking Water?

This year the Township of South Orange Village Water System 

was supplied with an average of 3 million gallons of water each 

day for domestic consumption, fire protection, ground irrigation, 

and other water supply needs.

The source of water supply provided to the Township of South 

Orange Village Water System is from groundwater derived 

through Well No. 17, located in Grove Park, Township of South 

Orange Village, and the balance from the East Orange Water 

Reserve located in Livingston, Millburn, and Florham Park. In 

addition, water was purchased from the City of Newark to meet 

consumer demand. In rare instances when an emergency should 

arise, the Township of South Orange Village Water System has 

water interconnections with the New Jersey American Water 

Company.

To learn more about our watershed, go to the U.S. EPA’s Surf 

Your Watershed at www.epa.gov/surf. 

Source of Drinking Water

The sources of drinking water (both tap water and bottled wa-

ter) include rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs, and 

wells. As water travels over the surface of the land or through the 

ground, it dissolves naturally-occurring minerals and, in some 

cases, radioactive material, and can pick up substances resulting 

from the presence of animals or from human activity.  

Contaminants that may be present in source water include: 

•  Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, which 

may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agri-

cultural livestock operations, and wildlife. 

•  Inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metals, which can 

be naturally occurring or result from urban stormwater runoff, 

industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas pro-

duction, mining, or farming. 

•  Pesticides and herbicides, which may come from a variety of 

sources such as agriculture, urban stormwater runoff, and resi-

dential uses.  

•  Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and vola-

tile organic chemicals, which are byproducts of industrial pro-

cesses and petroleum production, and can also come from gas 

stations, urban stormwater runoff, and septic systems. 

•  Radioactive contaminants, which can be naturally-occurring 

or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities.  

Source Water Assessment

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection 

(NJDEP) has completed and issued the Source Water Assessment 

Report and Summary for this public water system, which is 

available at www.state.nj.us/dep/swap or by contacting NJDEP’s 

Bureau of Safe Drinking Water at [phone]. You may also 

contact the City of East Orange Water Department’s Customer 

Service Division at [phone] to obtain information 

regarding your water system’s Source Water Assessment.

South Orange Water System PWSID # 0719001 South Orange 

Village ratings reflect the potential for contamination of source 

water, not the existence of contamination. If a system is rated 

highly susceptible for a contaminant category, this does not mean 

a customer is or will be consuming contaminated drinking water.

The following categories were rated with high potential to 

contaminate our water supply: volatile organic compounds, 

inorganics, radionuclides and radon.

The following categories were rated with medium potential to 

contaminate our water supply: nutrients, disinfection by-product 

precursors.

The following categories were rated with low potential to 

contaminate our water supply: pathogens, pesticides.

South Orange Water System is a public community water system 

consisting of 1 well(s), 0 wells under the influence of surface water, 

0 surface water intake(s), 1 purchased ground water source(s), and 

1 purchased surface water source(s).

This system’s source water comes from the following aquifer: 

Brunswick Aquifer This system purchases water from the 

following water systems: City of East Orange Water Department, 

New Jersey American Water Company – Short Hills, and the 

City of Newark.

Susceptibility Ratings for South Orange Water System 

Sources

The information below illustrates the susceptibility ratings for 

the seven contaminant categories (and radon) for each source in 

the system. The information provides the number of wells and 

intakes that rated high (H), medium (M), or low (L) for each 

contaminant category. For susceptibility ratings of purchased 

water, refer to the specific water system’s source water assessment 

report.

The seven contaminant categories are defined at the bottom of 

this page. NJDEP considered all surface water highly susceptible 

to pathogens; therefore, all intakes received a high rating for the 

pathogen category. For the purpose of Source Water Assessment 

Program, radionuclides are more of a concern for ground 

water than surface water. As a result, surface water intakes’ 

susceptibility to radionuclides was not determined and they all 

received a low rating.

Public water systems are required to monitor for regulated 

contaminants and to install treatment if any contaminants are 

detected at frequencies and concentrations above allowable levels. 

As a result of the assessments, NJDEP may customize (change 

existing) monitoring schedules based on the susceptibility 

ratings.

•  Pathogens: Disease-causing organisms such as bacteria and 

viruses. Common sources are animal and human fecal wastes.

•  Nutrients: Compounds, minerals and elements that

•  aid growth, that are both naturally occurring and manmade. 

Examples include nitrogen and phosphorus.

•  Volatile Organic Compounds: Man-made chemicals used 

as solvents, degreasers, and gasoline components. Examples 

include benzene, methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), and 

vinyl chloride.

•  Pesticides: Man-made chemicals used to control pests, weeds 

and fungus. Common sources include land application 

and manufacturing centers of pesticides. Examples include 

herbicides such as atrazine, and insecticides such as chlordane.

•  Inorganics: Mineral-based compounds that are both naturally 

occurring and man-made. Examples include arsenic, asbestos, 

copper, lead, ~md nitrate.

•  Radionuclides: Radioactive substances that are both naturally 

occurring and man-made. Examples include radium and 

uranium.

•  Radon: Colorless, odorless, cancer-causing gas that occurs 

naturally in the environment. For more information go to 

http://www.nj.gov/dep/rpp/radon/index.htm or call (800) 

648-0394.

•  Disinfection Byproduct Precursors: A common source 

is naturally occurring organic matter in surface water. 

Disinfection byproducts are formed when the disinfectants 

(usually chlorine) used to kill pathogens react with dissolved 

organic material (for example leaves) present in surface water.

2014 Annual Drinking Water Quality Report    

 

 

 

 

 

 

PWS ID #NJ0719001

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(973

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869

.