The water in dozens of towns in Bergen and Hudson counties may have elevated lead levels, according to the water utility that serves the municipalities.

SUEZ, a major private water utility in the state, said Wednesday that water samples from multiple homes served by its water treatment plant in Haworth have shown high levels of lead.

The utility said that of 108 water samples tested, 16 showed lead levels that were higher than the federal standard of 15 parts per billion. According to records from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the 90th percentile of the water samples showed lead levels of 18 parts per billion.

The utility said that 57 municipalities in Bergen and Hudson counties are affected by today’s announcement. NJDEP records show that the affected water system serves nearly 800,000 people in North Jersey.

The actual water leaving the SUEZ Haworth plant does not contain lead. The problem is with the system’s corrosion control treatment. Water systems are expected to treat water in a way that prevents any lead pipes it may flow through from corroding. If that corrosion control treatment is off, lead from lead pipes and lead plumbing fixtures can leach into the water.

All of the 108 homes tested by SUEZ have lead service lines. The tests were done in homes scattered across the system, and the samples that showed high lead levels were similarly spread out. David Stanton, the president of SUEZ’s North American utilities operations, said that there were no towns being singled out as problematic.

Larry Hajna, a spokesman for the NJDEP, said that the state issued SUEZ a notice of noncompliance on Jan. 7. SUEZ now has 30 days from that date to evaluate the performance of corrosion control treatment at the Haworth plant, and a recommendation for achieving optimal corrosion control at the plant needs to be submitted to the NJDEP by June 30.

SUEZ must also provide a total count of lead services lines in the affected system, and a replacement schedule for those service lines, within 60 days of the state notice being sent out on Jan. 7. And SUEZ is required to send educational materials about the possible effects of lead in drinking water to affected customers by March 1.

Richard Henning, a spokesman for SUEZ, said that the utility is offering to test the water of any concerned customers. If a customer’s water is found to have high lead levels, Henning said SUEZ will give the customer a filter.

SUEZ customers who are unsure if they are served by a lead service line can find out by checking their online account at www.mysuezwater.com/njwq, visiting www.SUEZWQ.com, or calling or emailing customer service center at 800-422-5987.

SUEZ is holding a press conference on Wednesday afternoon to address this issue.

Poor corrosion control and lead service lines have been at the root of lead problems for drinking water systems in Newark and Trenton.

During his State of the State address yesterday, Gov. Phil Murphy said that he would seek federal funding to help address lead problems around the state. On the same day, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka sent an open letter to President Donald Trump asking for the federal government to address the problem of lead service lines around the country.

Jeff Tittel, the director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, urged state officials find funding on the state level while they appeal to the federal government.

“The N.J. infrastructure trust fund is almost out of money and we are not getting money from the federal government, at least in the short term,” Tittel said. “This means it’s up to Governor and the state legislature to come up with funding source and pass lead monitoring and funding mechanisms.”

This story was updated at 4:10 p.m.

NJ Advance Media staff reporter Carla Astudillo contributed to this report.

Michael Sol Warren may be reached at mwarren@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MSolDub. Find NJ.com on Facebook.