Passaic Valley Water Commission, NJ
Exceeded the action level in the past
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 1.62 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. The latest result is under the action level, but this system has gone over 15 ppb before. Lead comes from pipes, not the source water, so a home with a lead service line can still be exposed. Test your own tap.
About Passaic Valley Water Commission
Passaic Valley Water Commission serves about 310,483 people through 53,421 service connections, which makes it a very large system under EPA's size classes. It is owned by a local government (city, town, county or district) and draws surface water, in Passaic County, New Jersey. EPA system ID: NJ1605002; phone on file: 973-340-4307. Call that number and ask whether your address has a lead, galvanized or unknown service line.
Lead results over time
Against the period ending 2025 (2.4 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Passaic Valley Water Commission is 17.96 ppb across 21 monitoring periods, 1 of them over the 15 ppb action level.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 1.62 ppb |
| 2025 | 2.4 ppb |
| 2025 | 3.73 ppb |
| 2024 | 4 ppb |
| 2024 | 3.45 ppb |
| 2023 | 5.65 ppb |
| 2023 | 7.28 ppb |
| 2022 | 5.72 ppb |
| 2022 | 3.95 ppb |
| 2021 | 7.8 ppb |
| 2021 | 5.15 ppb |
| 2020 | 8.27 ppb |
| 2020 | 6.41 ppb |
| 2019 | 10.89 ppb over 10 |
| 2019 | 6.63 ppb |
| 2018 | 10 ppb |
| 2018 | 8.2 ppb |
| 2017 | 13.8 ppb over 10 |
| 2017 | 10 ppb |
| 2016 | 17.96 ppb over 15 |
| 2016 | 9.99 ppb |
How Passaic Valley Water Commission compares
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. Passaic Valley Water Commission's 1.62 ppb sits at the 60th percentile in New Jersey and the 65th nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Passaic County
25 other systems share Passaic County; 12 of them have a higher latest lead result than Passaic Valley Water Commission. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Township Of Wayne | 55,000 | 2.93 ppb |
| Manchester Utilities Authority | 12,000 | 0.81 ppb |
| Pompton Lakes Mua | 11,435 | 2.51 ppb |
| Nj American Water - Little Falls | 11,247 | 1 ppb |
| Totowa W Dept | 10,804 | 3.5 ppb |
| Wanaque W Dept. | 10,266 | 6.81 ppb |
| Ringwood Water Department | 9,327 | 1.7 ppb |
| Bloomingdale Water Dept | 7,742 | 0 (not detected) |
| Woodland Park Water Department | 6,000 | 0 (not detected) |
| Veolia Water Nj - Olde Milford Est | 1,577 | 3.59 ppb |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Clifton, 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 Passaic Valley Water Commission 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. Why an old exceedance still matters: over the limit before, under it now.