Belleville's Drinking Water ‘Violated Requirements’: Officials

BELLEVILLE, NJ — Belleville’s water system violated drinking water requirements over the past year. And the township’s residents “have a right to know what happened," officials say.

The Belleville Public Works Department issued an advisory about the town’s drinking water supply on Feb. 22, stating that “monitoring requirements were not met.”

According to the municipal advisory:

“Our water system violated drinking water requirements over the past year. Even though these were not emergencies, as our customers, you have a right to know what happened and what we are doing to correct these situations.”

The municipal bulletin continued:

“We are required to monitor your drinking water for specific contaminants on a regular basis. Results of regular monitoring are an indicator of whether or not our drinking water meets health standards. During 2017 we did not complete the monitoring for Iron and Manganese and therefore cannot be sure of the quality of your drinking water during that time.”

According to Belleville officials, the town was required to collect one sample in 2017, which wasn’t collected until Jan. 31, 2018.

“There is nothing you need to do at this time,” Belleville officials said. “You may continue to drink the water. If a situation arises where the water is no longer safe to drink, you will be notified within 24 hours… The Water Department will monitor Iron and Manganese mid-year 2018 and will continue to follow our required monitoring schedule.”

For more information, residents can contact Thomas J. Herits at 973-450-3414, or at 152 Washington Avenue, Belleville, NJ, 07109.

Don’t forget to visit the Patch Belleville-Nutley Facebook page here.

In December 2017, the Belleville Public Works Department announced that the municipal water supply – which is purchased from the Newark Water Department – recently tested below the acceptable limits for "disinfectant residual," the amount of chlorine or related disinfectant present in the pipes of the distribution system.

Belleville water officials said that the situation was not an emergency and residents did not need to boil their water or take other corrective actions. But officials added that Belleville residents with severely compromised immune systems, those who have an infant, pregnant women and senior citizens may face some risks and should seek advice from their health care providers about drinking the water.

• See related article: Belleville Water May Hold Risks For Vulnerable Residents, Officials Say
• See related article: Bloomfield Struggles With Water Contamination (What Comes Next?)

Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site here. Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

Photo: Shutterstock