NEWARK — Officials in New Jersey’s largest city announced on Monday that thousands of water filters handed out to residents had significantly reduced lead in drinking water to safe levels.

Bottled water would still be made available, but officials said the crisis that had gripped the city for months seemed to be easing.

Testing done jointly by city, state and federal officials found that the filters had been 97 percent effective at reducing lead levels to below a federally acceptable standard, meaning that 97 percent of test results showed the filters working properly.

“These results are a welcome jolt of positive news that allows us collectively to charge ahead in implementing our short-term, midterm and long-term solutions,” Gov. Philip D. Murphy said at a news conference on Monday.