Belleville Didn't Meet Lead Pipe Replacement Quota: Officials

BELLEVILLE, NJ — Belleville officials released a drinking water advisory on Wednesday, after the town failed to meet a minimum threshold for lead service line replacement.

According to the municipal notice:

“The Belleville Water Department has not yet replaced the minimum required – 7 percent – of lead service lines within one year of a lead action level exceedance, thereby violating a drinking water requirement. Even though this is not an emergency, as our customers, you have a right to know what happened, what you should do, and what we are doing to correct the situation.”

Officials continued:

“We routinely monitor for lead and copper at consumers’ taps within our distribution system. The samples collected during January 1, 2019 through June 30, 2019 and July 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019, showed lead levels greater than the lead action level of 15 micrograms per liter (μg/L or parts per billion) in more than 10 percent of the sites sampled. We previously informed you of this exceedance in a notice issued on dated December 15, 2019. You can also view lead and copper results on the state’s Drinking Water Watch website available at https://www9.state.nj.us/DEP_WaterWatch_public/index.jsp and entering our water system name (Belleville Water Department) Public Water System ID# (NJ0701001).”

Belleville officials said:

“As a result of the lead action level exceedance, we were required to replace a minimum of seven percent of the lead service lines in the distribution system from July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2021. We will soon begin the Lead Service Line Replacement Program; however, we did not complete the replacement of the required seven percent, or approximately 385 lead service lines, by the deadline of June 30, 2020 required under the Lead and Copper Rule.”

“Infants and children who drink water containing lead in excess of the action level could experience delays in their physical or mental development,” the advisory added. “Children could show slight deficits in attention span and learning.”

• See related article: New Jersey Is Replacing Its Lead Water Pipes – All Of Them

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