Bloomfield Struggles With Water Contamination (What Comes Next?)

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Lead, haloacetic acids and discolored water. What’s up with the drinking water in Bloomfield?

In the past few months, Bloomfield residents have seen multiple water contamination notices from municipal officials, including recent notifications about excesses of lead and haloacetic acids found at sources throughout the township.

On Jan. 9, municipal officials announced that the previous month, four water samples exceeded the standard, or maximum contaminant level (MCL) for haloacetic acids. The average levels of haloacetic acids at four of four sampling locations were 72 µg/L, 83 µg/L, 81 µg/L and 87 µg/L. The MCL for haloacetic acids is 60 µg/L.

Bloomfield officials said that the violation wasn’t an emergency situation, and that there is nothing that local residents have to do in response to the alert. (Read the full notice here)

“If you have a severely compromised immune system, have an infant, are pregnant or are elderly, you may be at increased risk and should seek advice from your health care providers about drinking this water,” Bloomfield officials advised.

Officials added that residents do not need to boil their water or take other corrective actions.

“Some people who drink haloacetic acids in excess of the MCL over many years may experience problems with their liver, kidney or central nervous system and may have increased risk of getting cancer,” Bloomfield officials said.

The township has been actively working toward resolving violations related to chlorine by-products over the past two years, officials added.

An important detail to remember is that Bloomfield receives water pre-treated from the City of Newark, officials said.

“Samples from taps at the source interconnections with the City of Newark indicate elevated levels of disinfection by-products, including haloacetic acids. The Bloomfield Water Department does not treat or disinfect our water but receive the water, pre-treated from the City of Newark. Upon learning of these, most recent, elevated levels on December 6, we contacted the City of Newark who indicated they would adjust the method by which we receive water from their reservoirs. The Bloomfield Water Department conducted interim sampling on December 14 to determine if these adjustments have reduced the level of Haloacetic Acids. These results will be available two to three weeks from December 14. The regional EPA office as well as the NJDEP were also notified of this issue.”

ELEVATED LEAD, DISCOLORED WATER

On Jan. 12, Bloomfield municipal officials reported that six water samples taken throughout the township tested above the EPA Safe Drinking Water Standards limit for lead.

However, after “flushing” and letting the water run for a few minutes, the samples’ lead levels were “significantly reduced,” officials said.

A list of the locations where water samples were drawn and their reported levels can be seen here.

According to Bloomfield town officials:

“These results verify that the lead is not within the source water or township distribution pipes… If this was the case all or most results would be above [the limit] at 15 ppb.”

Bloomfield officials had previously issued alerts about elevated levels of lead and “discolored water” in October and November of 2017.

For more information about the lead testing results, call 973-600-4009 or email plasek@bloomfieldtwpnj.com

WHAT’S BEING DONE?

So what’s being done to boost the quality of the water in Bloomfield?

“Frustrated residents should know that there are improvements in the works to hopefully supply locals with better quality water soon,” municipal officials stated in a news release earlier this month.

According to officials:

“The Bloomfield Water Department is in the process of implementing water main cleaning and lining programs and is planning to build a new water pump station at the site of the old Getty gas station on the corner of East Passaic and West Passaic Avenues. The new pump station will draw water directly from the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission System in Wanaque. This treated water is drawn from a covered reservoir and will come directly to Bloomfield. The water will not be routed through another system or require further treatment, as Bloomfield's current water supply from Newark does, so this new water should be of a much higher quality. The Bloomfield Township Engineer said he anticipates about 18 months for this new pump station to be completed.”

A Bloomfield Township spokesperson told Patch on Tuesday that the estimated cost for the new pump station and cleaning/lining is $2.5 million, however the final amount is dependent on the bids received by the township.

“We anticipate a savings in the form of a lower need for water pumping fees from the township's primary water supply due to the new supplemental supply that will be added,” the spokesperson said.

When asked if there were any environmental/health issues with building a water pump station at the site of a former gas station, the spokesperson provided the following reply:

“We do not anticipate any environmental issues at the site of the new water pump, however all state-mandated environmental tests will be done.”

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