Per the EPA's strong suggestion that really feels more like an order, Newark is now providing residents with bottled water, after tests of the city's drinking supply indicated filters could be insufficient to guard against lead contamination caused by improper corrosion treatment at the city’s Pequannock plant.

"We are unable at this time to assure Newark residents that their heath is fully protected when drinking tap water filtered through these devices," the letter, dated August 9th, reads. "EPA therefore believes it is essential for the City of Newark to advise residents with known or suspected lead service lines that until further notice they should not rely on the efficacy of the filtration devices that the city previously provided. Residents should be advised, instead, to use bottled water for drinking and cooking, until we can be assured of the reliable efficacy of filtration devices."

According to the EPA, these latest samples were taken at two Newark homes on August 6th, in an effort to determine whether or not filters were keeping lead levels below the 15 parts per billion threshold. The NY Times reports that Newark officials handed out nearly 40,000 water filters in October. (Newark's population is approximately 282,090 people, with over 95,000 households.)

Although New Jersey Governor Philip Murphy and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka cooperated with the EPA, making water bottles freely available at four pick-up sites across the city (locations below), according to the Times, Baraka in particular appears to have attracted some criticism for not acting more quickly.

Despite the EPA's clear instructions that every Newark resident with lead pipes be given bottled water, Baraka was only recommending that for children and pregnant women as of Saturday. Baraka has also denied that the situation in Newark bears comparison to Flint's water crisis, which began in 2014 when the city switched its water supply to a source that corroded pipes and caused them to leach lead. But there are some parallels: Newark and Flint are similar in terms of demographics and then, Flint also leaned on bottled water during the crisis. Actually, due to a widespread feeling of having been abandoned and/or deprioritized by their elected officials (locally, and also nationally) many people lost faith in government, and some continue to rely on bottled water.

FREE WATER! begins in Newark after reports filters not controlling lead in homeowner service lines. I’m live at 4&6 ⁦@NBCNewYork⁩ pic.twitter.com/ICSI51X8fq — Brian Thompson (@brian4NY) August 12, 2019

With respect to Newark's water bottle distribution, Baraka told NJ.com that "it's a preliminary caution, I just think people want to be cautious about it. It's not going to hurt anybody to give out the water. We are going to do it until we figure out if the issue is the filter." And in a joint statement with Murphy, the mayor also emphasized that "the city and state will need support and assistance from the federal government if bottled water is to be provided and distributed to impacted residents."

Currently, only those whose water supply comes from the Pequannock water treatment plant can pick up water, owing to a 2017 failure at the site that kicked off Newark's crisis and catalyzed the distribution of water filters. According to NJ.com, Pequannock serves most of the city, its East Ward excepted. The National Resources Defense Council is also suing Newark over its allegedly inadequate response to the problem.

For now, Murphy and Baraka urge residents to keep running their taps, even if they're not drinking or cooking with the water that comes out. It's been chemically treated to coat the pipes and guard against corrosion, a temporary solution reportedly intended to keep the situation under control while the city repairs its lead pipes. Affected residents can pick up bottled water for the duration of the city's testing period. Here are the four locations:

