Nj American Water - Raritan, NJ
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1 ppb (monitoring period 2026-2026). The federal action level is 15 ppb today and drops to 10 ppb in Nov 2027; EPA's health goal is 0. Lead was measured in sampled homes but the 90th percentile is under both action levels. EPA's health goal for lead is zero, so test your own tap if your home was built before 1986 or anyone in it is pregnant or a young child.
About Nj American Water - Raritan
Nj American Water - Raritan serves about 615,430 people through 205,035 service connections, which makes it a very large system under EPA's size classes. It is privately owned and draws surface water, in Union County, New Jersey. EPA system ID: NJ2004002; phone on file: 609-605-2271. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Every lead result on file
Against the period ending 2025 (2 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Nj American Water - Raritan is 4 ppb across 19 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 1 ppb |
| 2025 | 2 ppb |
| 2024 | 2 ppb |
| 2024 | 2 ppb |
| 2023 | 2 ppb |
| 2023 | 2 ppb |
| 2022 | 2 ppb |
| 2022 | 2 ppb |
| 2021 | 3 ppb |
| 2021 | 3 ppb |
| 2020 | 2 ppb |
| 2020 | 2 ppb |
| 2019 | 2 ppb |
| 2019 | 2 ppb |
| 2018 | 3 ppb |
| 2018 | 3 ppb |
| 2017 | 3 ppb |
| 2017 | 2 ppb |
| 2016 | 4 ppb |
Against other New Jersey systems
Of the 605 New Jersey systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1 ppb; 5 are over 15 ppb right now and 52 have gone over at some point. Nj American Water - Raritan's 1 ppb sits at the 51st percentile in New Jersey and the 56th nationally (higher means more lead).
Nearby utilities
3 other systems share Union County; 1 of them has a higher latest lead result than Nj American Water - Raritan. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Nj American Water - Liberty | 134,000 | 2 ppb |
| Rahway Water Department | 27,300 | 0 (not detected) |
| Winfield Mutual Housing | 1,600 | 0 (not detected) |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Brtidgewater, NJ may offer free or low-cost kits through the utility. If your own line is lead, replacing the private side runs about $1,200-$12,300 (EPA average about $4,700). Ask Nj American Water - Raritan whether it covers that cost before hiring anyone - many utilities now do.
These figures describe homes the utility sampled, not your tap. Only your service line record or a test of your own water answers the question for your house. Why sampled homes are the worst-case ones is in the guide to reading the number. The action level is dropping - the 10 ppb rule from 2027.