Essex County, New Jersey: drinking water report. Essex County – Newark and surrounding communities – serves about 800,000 residents.
Essex County – Newark and surrounding communities – serves about 800,000 residents. Newark's water comes from the Pequannock, Wanaque, and Passaic River watersheds via reservoirs in the northern New Jersey highlands. The city's water system made national headlines in 2019 when widespread lead contamination prompted an emergency bottled water distribution and an accelerated lead service line replacement program.
Newark completed the replacement of approximately 23,000 lead service lines in under three years – one of the fastest large-scale replacements in US history. Lead levels have dropped significantly since, but the episode exposed how aging infrastructure can undermine otherwise clean source water. According to Newark's 2024 water quality report, 90th percentile lead levels have returned to well below the federal action level of 15 ppb.
New Jersey's strict PFAS MCLs (14 ppt PFOA, 13 ppt PFOS, 13 ppt PFNA) apply to Essex County systems. UCMR5 data shows detections in several county providers. The county's dense urban-industrial landscape includes numerous potential PFAS sources from manufacturing and commercial activities.
Newark's lead crisis demonstrated that clean source water does not guarantee clean tap water. If you live in an older building – particularly one that was not included in the service line replacement – lead remains a concern.
Check your water for current data in your area. A filter certified for lead reduction is worth having in pre-1986 homes. For PFAS, reverse osmosis covers the broadest range. Our water filter guide explains the options. Pull your detailed report, and visit our New Jersey page for statewide context.
Drinking water is one exposure route. These federal datasets also cover Essex County, NJ.
The EPA places Essex County, NJ in Zone 2 - a moderate-risk category, with a predicted average indoor radon level between 2 and 4 pCi/L. Zone maps predict an area's radon potential from geology and existing indoor readings; they say nothing about a specific house. Testing is the only way to know your own level.
76% of homes in Essex County, NJ were built before 1980, and 39% before 1950. Residential lead paint was banned in 1978, so housing age is the strongest available proxy for lead-paint exposure. This describes the county's housing stock, not any one home.
Modelled annual fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) in Essex County, NJ averages 7.6 µg/m³, within the EPA's annual standard of 9 µg/m³. These are CDC modelled county estimates rather than readings from a specific monitor.
How radon zones work · Air quality by county · Lead exposure guide