New Jersey American Water Implements Temporary Treatment Change in Water Treatment Plants Serving Central and Northern Parts of the State
New Jersey American Water is set to change its water treatment process from chloramines to free chlorine as part of an annual maintenance program. This temporary change will affect customers across several counties, including Essex, Hunterdon, and Mercer, from January 12, 2021, until the end of April 2021. Customers may notice a chlorine taste and smell in their water during this period, which is a normal occurrence. The company emphasizes its commitment to maintaining high water quality and compliance with drinking water standards throughout the process.
- Standard practice to ensure water safety and quality.
- Annual maintenance program enhances pipeline disinfection.
- Temporary change could lead to customer dissatisfaction due to chlorine taste/smell.
As part of an annual maintenance program for its water distribution system, New Jersey American Water will temporarily change the water treatment process from a chloramine (combined) residual to free chlorine residual at the company’s Raritan-Millstone and Canal Road Water Treatment plants. These surface water treatment plants serve New Jersey American Water customers in the following counties: Essex, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Morris, Somerset and Union.
“This periodic, scheduled change in disinfectant is a standard water treatment practice that allows us to continue to provide safe, high-quality water for our customers,” said Matthew Csik, Director of Water Quality and Environmental Compliance, New Jersey American Water. “We perform this distribution system maintenance program every year as an added measure to further disinfect the pipelines in our distribution system.”
The temporary treatment process will begin on Tuesday, January 12, 2021, and continue until the end of April 2021. During this period, some customers may notice a slight taste and smell of chlorine in their water. This is normal and will only be temporary until the system maintenance is complete. Customers who wish to reduce the taste of chlorine can place water in an uncovered glass container in the refrigerator overnight to dissipate chlorine faster.
“As always, we will continue to monitor water quality in the system to provide that customers receive water that meets or is better than federal and state drinking water standards,” Csik said.
The temporary treatment change applies to New Jersey American Water customers in the following communities. (Communities with an asterisk purchase water from New Jersey American Water.)
Essex County: Irvington, Maplewood, Millburn
Hunterdon County: Flemington Borough*, Raritan Township, Readington Township, and Tewksbury Township
Mercer County: Hopewell Borough*, Hopewell Township, Lawrence Township*, Princeton Borough, Princeton Junction, Princeton Township, Trenton*, and West Windsor Township
Middlesex County: Cranbury Township, Dunellen Borough, Edison Township, Jamesburg Borough, Middlesex Borough, Monroe Township, North Brunswick*, Piscataway Township, Plainsboro Township, South Brunswick Township and South Plainfield Borough
Morris County: Chatham Township, Florham Park Borough, Long Hill Township, Mendham Township Mendham Borough
Somerset County: Bedminster Township, Bernards Township, Bernardsville Borough, Bound Brook Borough, Branchburg Township, Bridgewater Township, Far Hills Borough, Franklin Township, Green Brook Township, Hillsborough Township, Manville Borough, Millstone Borough, Montgomery Township, North Plainfield Borough, Peapack & Gladstone Borough, Raritan Borough, Rocky Hill*, Somerville Borough, South Bound Brook Borough, Warren Township and Watchung Borough
Union County: Berkley Heights Township, City of Rahway*, Clark Township, Cranford Township, City of Elizabeth (Liberty)*, Fanwood Borough, Garwood Borough, Hillside Township, Kenilworth Borough, Linden City, Mountainside Borough, New Providence Borough, Plainfield City, Roselle Borough, Roselle Park Borough, Scotch Plains Township, Springfield Township, Summit, Union Township, Westfield Township and Winfield Park Township*
New Jersey American Water has used chloramines in its water treatment process since the 1970s. For more information, visit newjerseyamwater.com.
About New Jersey American Water
New Jersey American Water, a subsidiary of American Water (NYSE: AWK), is the largest investor-owned water utility in the state, providing high-quality and reliable water and/or wastewater services to approximately 2.8 million people. For more information, visit www.newjerseyamwater.com and follow New Jersey American Water on Twitter and Facebook.
About American Water
With a history dating back to 1886, American Water is the largest and most geographically diverse U.S. publicly traded water and wastewater utility company. The company employs more than 6,800 dedicated professionals who provide regulated and market-based drinking water, wastewater and other related services to 15 million people in 46 states. American Water provides safe, clean, affordable and reliable water services to our customers to make sure we keep their lives flowing. For more information, visit amwater.com and follow American Water on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
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FAQ
When will New Jersey American Water change its treatment process to free chlorine?
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