Livingston Plans Water Upgrades; Feds Lower ‘Forever Chemical’ Limits

LIVINGSTON, NJ — Livingston is carrying out a system-wide update on its drinking water infrastructure that aims to cut down on the presence of “forever chemicals,” officials recently announced.

Last month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rolled out strict, new limits on toxic substances in public water systems. The mandate requires that perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals – known collectively as “PFAS” – must be reduced to near-zero levels. Read More: Strict New Limits On Water Chemicals Announced (See NJ Impacts)

The family of chemicals, which includes Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) and Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), have been used since the 1940s in a wide variety of industrial and commercial applications around the world. At least 45 percent of U.S. water systems have one or more types of PFAS, according to a 2023 study by the U.S. Geological Survey.

The EPA rule is the first federal drinking water limit on PFAS, which are widespread, long-lasting in the environment and have been linked to cancer and a host of other health problems.

The state of New Jersey has been regulating PFAS for years, albeit at higher allowable limits (14 parts per trillion for PFOA and 13 trillion for PFOS). But the new federal standards lower the maximum contaminant levels for both PFOA and PFOS to 4 parts per trillion – a move that is expected to impact millions of people across the nation.

And yes, that includes Livingston, which has already started the process of updating its own drinking water system, officials say.

LIVINGSTON WATER

Where does Livingston get its drinking water from? According to the town’s most recent drinking water quality report:

“The Township of Livingston’s water supply is derived from 14 production wells located within the township and water purchased from New Jersey American Water (NJAW) and the East Orange Water Commission (EOWC). The water purchased from NJAW is a blend of sources that includes groundwater from the Brunswick Shale Formations, the Buried Valley Aquifer System, the Gneiss Rock Formations, and surface water from the Canoe Brook Reservoirs, Passaic River, Raritan River and the Wanaque Reservoir. The water purchased from the EOWC is groundwater from the Buried Valley Aquifer System.”

Town engineer Jeannette Harduby and utility engineer Nathan Kiracofe gave more details about the plan to upgrade Livingston’s wells at the May 13 council meeting.

Due to the size of Livingston’s water system, the town takes samples for PFAS four times per year. Compliance is measured on a running average – something that Livingston has been doing since 2019, when the state rolled out its regulations for forever chemicals, Harduby said.

Towns and water systems are being given until 2027 to complete initial sampling under the new federal limits and release their findings to the public – something else the township has been doing regularly. If towns are in excess of the new limits, they have until 2029 to implement solutions that bring them into compliance.

Livingston is already taking steps to exceed these new standards, Harduby said.

Kiracofe said there are several ways of addressing the issue, but the town will be using ion exchange media, which removes the chemicals as they run over them. As part of this process, the town plans to install large, steel “pressure vessels” and carry out other upgrades at several of its well facilities.

Kiracofe said there are three phases to the project (article continues below):

Phase C of the project is currently in development, and will cover any well facilities that are impacted by the new EPA limits.

In addition to funding through the New Jersey Water Bank, the town is part of a class action lawsuit against 3M and DuPont, and is expected to receive funds that can be applied to the cost of the upgrades, Kiracofe said.

Why are some wells being addressed and others are not? According to Kiracofe, the wells that are being addressed at this time exceeded the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s limits – making them the “ones that needed to get focused on.”

Watch the May 13 presentation on forever chemicals in Livingston below (video is cued to the discussion).

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