As we have reported to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, our water quality testing program has found elevated levels of lead in the drinking water in a limited number of homes in Bergen and Hudson counties.

Water quality is so important to us that we perform nearly 50,000 tests each year in this system alone. The water leaving our plant has no detectable level of lead. In addition, we have no lead water mains. But lead has been detected in some homes where interior plumbing, solder and fixtures contain lead or where the home is served by a lead service line. SUEZ owns the portion of the service line from the main to the curb, while the property owner owns the portion from the curb to the home. The majority of SUEZ customers in Northern New Jersey are NOT served by a utility-owned lead service line. Less than 5 percent of the utility’s service lines contain lead. Twelve percent have lead goosenecks – a small flexible pipe about 18 inches long that connects a water main to a service line.

To prevent lead from leaching into the water we have had a corrosion control treatment program in place for decades, one we enhanced in 2017. Essentially, this coats the pipes to prevent lead from entering the water supply. We continue to rigorously monitor our system and will test for the next 12 months to make sure that our corrosion control treatment is working exactly as it should.