PFAS Isn’t Just a Private Well Problem. If You’re on NJ City Water, Here’s What Your Utility Is Required to Tell You — and What It Isn’t.

Most of the conversation about PFAS contamination in New Jersey has focused on private well water — and for good reason, since wells in contaminated areas have no treatment between the aquifer and the tap. But PFAS in New Jersey municipal water is a documented problem affecting public water systems across the state, and the protections that municipal customers assume are in place are not yet uniform, not always sufficient, and not always clearly communicated in the annual reports utilities send. Jersey Radon’s licensed water filtration team installs point-of-use treatment for PFAS in NJ city water homes where testing confirms concentrations that exceed health-based thresholds. Here’s what municipal water customers in New Jersey need to know.

Are PFAS in NJ Municipal Drinking Water a Confirmed Problem?

Yes — PFAS contamination has been documented in multiple New Jersey public water systems, particularly those drawing from surface water sources affected by industrial discharge, firefighting foam use at airports and military installations, and legacy manufacturing contamination in major river watersheds. The Passaic River watershed, which supplies water to millions of NJ residents through utilities including Passaic Valley Water Commission and others, has documented PFAS contamination from industrial sources. The Raritan River watershed, military facilities including Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, and numerous industrial corridors have all been identified as PFAS sources affecting downstream water supplies. According to the EPA’s PFAS drinking water regulations, enforceable maximum contaminant levels for PFOA and PFOS are set at 4 parts per trillion (ppt) — a threshold that numerous NJ utilities have reported results at or near in recent years.

New Jersey was among the first states in the country to set its own enforceable PFAS limits, predating the federal standard. The NJDEP established MCLs of 13 ppt for PFOS and 14 ppt for PFOA — standards that NJ utilities were required to comply with before the stricter federal 4 ppt limits were finalized in 2024. The regulatory picture continues to evolve: the federal 4 ppt limits for PFOA and PFOS are confirmed and remain in effect, while limits for other PFAS compounds (PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA) are subject to ongoing federal rulemaking as of mid-2026. What this means practically for NJ municipal customers is that their utility’s compliance status depends on which specific PFAS are present, which regulatory standard applies, and where the utility is in its treatment implementation timeline.

How Do You Find Out If Your NJ Utility Has PFAS in Its Water?

Every public water system in New Jersey is required to send customers an annual Consumer Confidence Report (CCR), also called a water quality report. This document lists the utility’s test results for regulated contaminants including PFAS, typically expressed as an annual average concentration. Utilities that have detected PFAS at or above the reporting threshold are required to include those results, and systems that have exceeded MCLs are required to notify customers. The CCR is available in print by request and online through most utility websites. New Jersey’s PWTA and the Safe Drinking Water Act both require public disclosure — but the disclosure is limited to annual averages of regulated contaminants, which may understate the range of concentrations experienced throughout the year, and does not include every PFAS compound that might be present in source water.

Why Doesn’t Municipal PFAS Treatment Protect Everyone?

The assumption that municipal water treatment eliminates all health concerns is understandable but not uniformly accurate for PFAS. Conventional water treatment — coagulation, sedimentation, filtration, and chlorination — was designed to address turbidity, bacteria, and a range of chemical contaminants, but PFAS were not among the design targets of most treatment systems built before the mid-2010s. Granular activated carbon (GAC) filtration and membrane treatment (including reverse osmosis and nanofiltration) are the technologies that effectively reduce PFAS in treated water, but not all NJ utilities have installed these systems or brought them fully online.

The compliance deadline for the 2024 federal PFAS drinking water regulations gives utilities until 2029 to achieve compliance — with a potential extension to 2031 under proposed EPA rulemaking. This means that NJ utilities with PFAS detections above the MCL are not necessarily in violation if they have a compliance plan in progress. During this transition period, customers of those systems may be receiving water with PFAS concentrations above the federal MCL while the utility is still in the design or construction phase of its treatment upgrade. Your CCR may show PFAS detections without those detections representing an immediate regulatory violation — which is not the same as the water meeting health-based targets.

• Check your utility’s most recent CCR for PFAS test results — available at the utility’s website or by request
• Look for PFOA and PFOS results specifically — the federal MCL is 4 ppt for each
• Note whether the results shown are annual averages or single measurements — peaks can be higher
• Ask your utility whether PFAS treatment (GAC or membrane filtration) is currently operational or still under development
• Look for public notification letters — utilities with MCL exceedances are required to notify customers
• Consider point-of-use treatment at the drinking water tap if results are near or above MCL thresholds

How Do NJ’s PFAS Standards Compare to the Federal MCLs?

New Jersey’s own PFAS drinking water standards — established before the 2024 federal rule — set MCLs of 13 ppt for PFOS and 14 ppt for PFOA. The federal 4 ppt MCLs for PFOA and PFOS finalized in 2024 are stricter than NJ’s original standards, meaning NJ utilities now face a lower compliance threshold than the state’s own rule originally required. This is a meaningful change: a NJ utility that was in compliance with the state’s 14 ppt PFOA MCL may now have detections that exceed the federal 4 ppt standard. For customers of those utilities, this means their water may have moved from a regulatory compliance status to a non-compliance situation without any change in the actual PFAS level in the water — the water didn’t change, the standard did. Understanding where your utility stands relative to both the NJ state standard and the current federal standard is the complete picture, not either number alone.

What Are the Health Concerns with PFAS in City Water?

PFAS health effects are the same regardless of whether the source is a private well or a municipal system. Long-term exposure to PFAS has been associated with increased cancer risk (kidney, testicular, and other cancers), thyroid disease, immune system suppression, high cholesterol, and reproductive and developmental effects. The EPA’s health-based goal (MCLG) for PFOA and PFOS is zero — meaning the agency has concluded there is no safe level of exposure to these compounds. The MCL of 4 ppt is set at the practical limit of detection and treatment capability, not at a concentration determined to be risk-free.

The populations most vulnerable to PFAS exposure include pregnant women (where PFAS can affect fetal development), infants (where formula prepared with PFAS-contaminated water concentrates exposure relative to body weight), and individuals with immune conditions, thyroid disorders, or cancer history. For these populations, point-of-use treatment for PFAS in drinking and cooking water is a reasonable protective measure even when a utility is working toward compliance and hasn’t yet exceeded MCLs. The question isn’t just whether a utility is in compliance — it’s whether the concentration in your water is meaningfully above zero for your specific health situation.

What Filters Actually Remove PFAS from City Water at the Tap?

This is where most consumers make a costly mistake. Standard pitcher filters, refrigerator filters, and basic carbon block filters are not reliably effective for PFAS removal. The standard activated carbon in these systems does adsorb PFAS to some degree, but the contact time and carbon mass in a pitcher filter are not sufficient to achieve consistent, meaningful PFAS reduction. The NSF/ANSI 58 certification for reverse osmosis systems and NSF/ANSI 53 certification for certain high-capacity carbon blocks are the benchmarks for effective PFAS treatment at the point of use — look specifically for certification language that lists PFOA and PFOS removal to confirm the system has been validated for PFAS reduction.

The two most effective point-of-use treatment technologies for PFAS in municipal water are reverse osmosis systems and high-performance granular activated carbon filters. Reverse osmosis systems installed under the kitchen sink produce water with PFAS reduced by 90 to 99%, making them the most reliable option for drinking and cooking water protection. Countertop and pitcher filters with NSF 53 certification for PFAS can achieve meaningful reduction, but their capacity is limited and filter replacement schedules must be followed strictly — an exhausted filter provides no PFAS protection regardless of how it looks. Our page on reverse osmosis vs. whole-house filtration covers how each approach fits into a complete water treatment strategy for NJ homes.

Can a Whole-House Filter Remove PFAS from City Water?

Yes — a whole-house GAC system with appropriate media, flow rate, and contact time is effective for PFAS reduction throughout the home. The challenge with whole-house PFAS treatment for city water is sizing and maintenance: the GAC media must be replaced or regenerated before PFAS breakthrough occurs, which depends on the PFAS concentration in the incoming water, the water use volume, and the size of the carbon bed. A whole-house carbon system that is correctly sized, uses high-quality GAC media appropriate for PFAS, and is maintained on schedule can reduce PFAS at every tap in the home including showers — which matters because some shorter-chain PFAS can be inhaled from steam during hot showers. For households where PFAS in city water is a significant concern and whole-house protection is desired, this is the appropriate conversation to have with a water treatment professional rather than defaulting to a pitcher filter and assuming the problem is solved.

Does New Jersey’s City Water PFAS Situation Require Action for Every Household?

Not universally — but the answer requires knowing your utility’s actual PFAS levels, not assuming they’re acceptable because your water looks and tastes normal. Many NJ utilities have tested below MCL thresholds or have already implemented PFAS treatment and confirmed reductions. Others are in the process of implementing treatment with detections near or above the MCL. The only way to know your situation is to check your utility’s current CCR and any public notification letters they’ve issued. If your utility serves more than 25 people (which covers virtually all NJ municipal systems), it is required to test and report.

For NJ households where PFAS are confirmed above or near MCL thresholds in the utility’s water, point-of-use RO or a certified carbon system at the kitchen tap is a practical, cost-effective protective measure that doesn’t require waiting for the utility’s treatment upgrade to complete. For households with pregnant women, infants, or members with immune or thyroid conditions, this protective step is worth considering at any PFAS concentration measurably above zero given the MCLG of zero for PFOA and PFOS. Our page on NJ water quality reports explained walks through how to read your CCR and what the numbers in it actually mean for your household.

Getting PFAS Treatment Right for Your NJ City Water Home

PFAS in municipal water is a solvable problem at the household level — the treatment technologies exist, they’re proven, and they’re accessible for residential installation. The key is matching the treatment to the actual PFAS concentrations in your water and ensuring the system is installed, certified, and maintained correctly. Jersey Radon’s licensed water treatment team evaluates city water PFAS situations and installs point-of-use and whole-house systems for NJ homeowners who want protection that doesn’t depend on a utility’s compliance timeline.

If you’re concerned about PFAS in your NJ city water and want to understand your options, contact us for a free estimate — we serve all of New Jersey and are available any time.