Contaminants in Newark-supplied water found in Nutley, Belleville, Bloomfield
Contaminants have spiked in the Newark city water supply, leaving its municipal customers scrambling to ease the problem trickling into their towns.
Nutley has followed Belleville and Bloomfield in alerting citizens that water supplied by the Newark Water Department contains haloacetic acids above the federal standard.
“It’s a problem that needs to be rectified,” said Nutley Mayor Joseph Scarpelli, who also serves as director of the Public Works Department.
While the water is deemed safe for drinking at this time, the acids contain chemicals that could cause cancer after years of exposure. The municipal notifications advise expecting mothers, those with children, the elderly, or anyone with a severely compromised immune system to seek medical advice about drinking the water.
“It suggests something is going on in the source water,” said Olga Naidenko, a scientist who advises the Environmental Working Group in Washington, D.C.
The problem can be compounded when aging treatment facilities, common in the Northeast, have trouble filtering out built-up organic matter, which can include algae bloom or human waste, she said.
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The chemical dibromoethane, found in haloacetic acids, is a suspected carcinogen, according to the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. But the science that determines what chemicals can harm humans is always evolving.
“For cancer risk from haloacetic acids and other contaminants linked to cancer, the risk is indeed long term, that is for many years of exposure,” Naidenko said. “However, short-term spikes can be harmful to the developing fetus.”
A $20 faucet filter can minimize risks in homes with expecting mothers, young children and other vulnerable residents, she said.
Newark expects to resolve the acid problem within three to six months, as it increases water line flushing and takes steps to reduce organic matter in the supply, according to a notification to its residents. Crystal Rosa, the city’s press secretary, referred questions to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
Newark has reported elevated haloacetic acids in five of the past 10 years, but the city has a more urgent concern of elevated lead in plumbing or service lines, in which health can deteriorate quickly. Bloomfield also recently responded to elevated lead.
But lead and acid problems, and their solutions, could be interrelated, said Larry Hajna, spokesman for the Department of Environmental Protection. High lead levels could be linked to a decrease in acidity, as Newark tries to reduce the disinfectant byproduct and improve its primary disinfectant, according to a third-party review of the Pequannock Water Treatment Plant’s corrosion control.
“You can fix one problem and have something else crop up,” Hajna said.
Nutley’s slightly elevated haloacetic acids affect less than 500 homes in the western part of town, where the Newark Water Department supplies the water, according to Nutley Mayor Joseph Scarpelli, director the Public Works Department. Passaic Valley Water supplies the rest of the 7,500 residences, he said.
The township is flushing fire hydrants almost daily in the affected neighborhoods to introduce fresh water and dilute acid in the lines, according to Scarpelli. The costs of the extra water and manpower was unclear, but the mayor noted the work would not require overtime.
“Flushing is not the cure-all because the problem is in the water itself,” Scarpelli said. He declined to elaborate what further steps could be taken to protect residents.
Calls to Belleville and Bloomfield were referred to Belleville Township Manager Mauro Tucci and Bloomfield Township Engineer Paul Lasek. Neither could be reached for comment.
Originally on NorthJersey.com
