PASCACK VALLEY—Nearly 800 area residents should recently have received a letter notifying them that their water comes through a lead service line, a notice required under legislation Gov. Phil Murphy signed 2021.
Suez North America, which serves nearly 600,000 customers in Bergen and Hudson counties, and thousands in the Pascack Valley — barring Park Ridge and Woodcliff Lake, which are served by Park Ridge Water and Sewer — has been on the go replacing its lead service lines to customers’ properties at no charge.
A sample notification letter was provided by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for utilities to send affected customers.
The U.S Environmental Protection Agency says lead can enter drinking water when plumbing materials that contain lead corrode, especially where the water has high acidity or low mineral content that corrodes pipes and fixtures.
It says the most common sources of lead in drinking water are lead pipes, faucets, and fixtures. “In homes with lead pipes that connect the home to the water main, also known as lead services lines, these pipes are typically the most significant source of lead in the water.”
It says lead pipes are more likely to be found in older cities, and homes built before 1986, and that among homes without lead service lines the most common problem is with brass or chrome-plated brass faucets and plumbing with lead solder.
The World Health Organization warns lead is a cumulative toxicant that affects multiple body systems and is particularly harmful to young children. “There is no level of exposure to lead that is known to be without harmful effects.”
20,000 notices go out
According to Debra Vial, Suez’s communications director, her company mailed 762 advisories in the Pascack Valley out of 20,000 advisories it sent customers statewide. Its territory extends from Bergen and Hudson counties to West Milford, Vernon, Lambertville, and Toms River.
Vial told us on Feb. 22 that Suez owns the portion of the service line that runs from its water main near the middle of a street to a customer’s property line. The customer owns the remaining portion of the service line that extends from one’s property line (generally the curbline) into the customer’s home or business.
She said, “As we move through neighborhoods and find customers with lead lines on their side, we offer to replace them at no cost to the customer. Our goal is to remove all the lead from the system.”
Vial said her company was proud of its lead removal efforts ongoing since 2019, when it “launched an aggressive attack on lead service lines, spending $95 million and removing 8,000 lead lines through the end of 2021,” she said.
She added, “More than 20 construction crews, some working six days a week, have swept through 57 municipalities in Bergen and Hudson counties. The company’s work in the field will continue in 2022, with Suez investing $20 million to replace thousands more lead service lines.”
According to the NJDEP, water systems in New Jersey were required to notify residents, non-paying consumers (e.g., a renter not responsible for the water bill), and any off-site owner of a property (e.g., landlord) “when it is known they are served by a lead service line” no later than Feb. 21, 2022.
“Water systems will also be required to replace all lead service lines in their service area by 2031,” NJDEP says on its “Lead Exposure Reduction” webpage.
“While lead in drinking water poses health risks, your water system is required to assess appropriate actions and may be required to treat your water to minimize corrosion of pipe materials into the water,” the department notes.
According to NJDEP, water utilities statewide have identified some 186,830 lead service lines still serving homes and businesses; moreover, utility providers don’t have information about more than 1 million service lines.
The American Water Works Association estimates up to 350,000 lead service lines exist statewide.
DEP Commissioner Shawn LaTourette said at a Feb. 17 press conference on the lead notification letters being disseminated, the metal “poses significant threat particularly to our children, and we have to eliminate it where we find it.”
Those receiving letters are advised to visit nj.gov/dep/lead for more information. As well, check your town or borough website for the latest.