Drinking Water 2021 4th Quarter Update - Public Notice

Ridgewood Water continues to violate two New Jersey drinking water standards, and as our customers, you have a right to know what happened, what you should do, and what we are doing to correct this situation. In accordance with the National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (40 C.F.R. 141.203), Ridgewood Water is required to conduct public notification every three months to customers regarding the violations of recently adopted New Jersey drinking water standards. The previous public notification was provided on August 27, 2021, via mailing and posting on Ridgewood Water's website at https://water.ridgewoodnj.net. Beginning June 1, 2020, New Jersey set standards for Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonic Acid (PFOS). PFOA and PFOS are two specific compounds within the class of contaminants known as Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. 

 

We routinely monitor for the presence of contaminants in drinking water. On October 28, 2021, we received notice that the samples collected for the fourth quarter of 2021, showed that Ridgewood Water continues to exceed the standard, or maximum contaminant level (MCL), for PFOA at nineteen (19) of the system's active twenty-three (23) treatment plants, and exceeds the MCL for PFOS at one (1) of the system's active twenty­three (23) treatment plants. 

 

The New Jersey MCL for PFOA is 14 parts per trillion (ppt) and is based on a running annual average (RAA), in which the four most recent quarters of monitoring data are averaged. The RAA for PFOA based on samples collected over the last year at the exceeding treatment plants are between 15.6 - 26.0 parts per trillion (ppt). A full list of the system's treatment plant exceedances and their RAA can be found on the fourth page of this notice. 

 

The New Jersey MCL for PFOS is 13 parts per trillion (ppt) and is based on a running annual average (RAA). The RAA for PFOS based on samples collected over the last year at the exceeding treatment plant is 14.2 parts per trillion (ppt). A full list of the system's treatment plant exceedances and their RAA can be found on the fourth page of this notice.