Lead in drinking water in NJ?

Several northern NJ communities should be concerned about elevated levels of lead in their drinking water.

“It’s really isn’t the lead in the water originally, but leeches out of plumbing fixtures and piping,” Bella said, “and that kind of thing in the house.”

So residents have been instructed to flush out their entire system by running water 30 seconds to 2 minutes, and use cold water for cooking and preparing baby formula.

Residents are advised not to boil water. Such an action will kill living organisms, but will not have any effect on inanimate metal such as lead.

Residents are also advised to buy bottled water or a water filter.

Passaic Valley Water has upgraded its treatment plant, and replaced many lead pipes. There were 30,000, but now the commission is down to the last couple of hundred, Bella said.

But the major problem is old, open reservoirs. The company wants to build enclosed tanks in order to add a chemical compound that would decrease the levels of lead in the water.

But that would cost $80 million.

The elevated levels were found during tests in September and October.

You can read more including a video of this topic from CBS New York, here.