BELLEVILLE, NJ — Belleville officials distributed hundreds of free water filters to local residents last weekend after getting a welcome assist from the City of Newark and Clara Maass Medical Center.

On Friday, Belleville Mayor Michael Melham stood with Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and Clara Maass CEO Mary Ellen Clyne to announce a $70,000 gift to the township: $50,000 from the City of Newark and $20,000 from Clara Maass hospital. The donations allowed Belleville to purchase 210 water filters, which it distributed to residents last weekend.

Belleville began to closely monitor its drinking water after high levels of lead were detected in Pequannock-based Newark drinking water last summer. See related article: Belleville Will Distribute Limited Amount Of Free Water Filters According to Melham, "driven by frustration," he took out an ad on a giant billboard on Route 21 in September. The message, which towered about 50 feet over the busy highway, made news headlines.

Only two people, however, heeded the call, he said. "I stand here today flanked by the only two people who heeded the call for Belleville," Melham said Friday. "And on behalf of the entire township, I thank them for their support. There's no doubt about, we would not be here today if it were not for Newark mayor Ras Baraka and Clara Maass CEO, Ms. Mary Ellen Clyne."

According to Melham, although the township is under no federal or state mandate to provide water filters, strictly out of an abundance of caution, households with senior citizens, children under the age of 6, expecting and/or nursing mothers and those under doctors care were registered online to be among the first in Belleville to receive the free filters.

The township is reviewing the eligibility of the households that signed up via the website, FiltersforBelleville.org. For instance, residents in the Silver Lake area will not be eligible for these filters because they can easily receive them by contacting Newark Water, Melham said.