WOODBURY — Add Woodbury to the list of towns that have shut down a water well as a precaution due to contamination risk, after tests revealed the presence of the same industrial chemical currently raising concerns in Paulsboro and West Deptford.

Woodbury administrator Michael Theokas stressed the “pre-emptive” and “precautionary” nature of the city’s decision to take the No. 7 public well out of rotation. According to a statement released by the city on Thursday, tests at the No. 7 well found levels of the contaminant that were lower “than what was found in other municipalities.”

“The city’s water supply is, as it always has been, in full compliance with all federal and state regulations and health standards,” read the statement. “It is important to note that the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has not set any standards for the elements that showed positive in the one recent test, and has not made any declaration regarding the safety of either drinking or using the city water.”

Complaints of water contamination have been rampant in Paulsboro, where tests of the main water supply there revealed levels of perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs), such as perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), of up to 150 parts per trillion.

While there are no drinking water standards for PFNA, that was enough for a state Department of Environmental Protection official to write a letter advising Paulsboro residents that infants and children up to age one should stick to bottled water or liquid prepared formula.

In West Deptford, officials shut down one of the township's six water supply wells as a precaution, they said, after tests in October of last year returned evidence of PFNA in the No. 3 well. The township has recently added a "Frequently Asked Questions" page regarding the issue on its website.

The water testing is being led by plastics plant Solvay Solexis, which is located in West Deptford, which used PFNA in its industrial processes until 2010. The decision to cut out the chemical completely had been voluntary, after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requested that companies nationwide reduce its use.

The Delaware Riverkeeper Network, an environmental group that first brought attention to the issue in August 2013, has stated the PFNA and PFC found in the groundwater directly stems from the Solvay Solexis plant’s past use of the chemical.

Company representatives have denied that, stating the chemicals may have come from a variety of sources. Nonetheless, plant officials have said they have and will continue to work with the DEP to test groundwater in the area.

Solvay Solexis conducted tests at all five of Woodbury’s public wells earlier this year, according to Theokas. Officials did not receive the results of the tests until recently, he added.

“Once city officials were first made aware of a reading of PFNA in our water, the affected well ceased to be used as part of the normal rotation of five wells that service the city,” read Thursday’s announcement from the city. “The remaining wells tested showed a marginal, if any, level of the contaminant in question and remain in use.

“The city is continuing to work diligently with the NJDEP, Solvay and our neighboring communities to compile as accurate information as possible for its residents, and will continue to inform the public as more information becomes available.”

Contact staff writer Jason Laday at 856-686-3628 or jladay@southjerseymedia.com.