Politics & Government

No More Bottled Water In Newark, Except For Most Vulnerable

Newark officials are ending their free bottled water program. Authorities say filters are working to protect residents from lead.

Newark will end its bottled water distribution program for most residents on Oct. 8, 2019.
Newark will end its bottled water distribution program for most residents on Oct. 8, 2019. (Photo: YouTube/City of Newark)

NEWARK, NJ — For months, thousands of Newark residents have been getting free bottled water from the city to help battle an ongoing lead contamination crisis. But starting next week, that will end for all but the most vulnerable residents, officials announced.

Newark has been handing out bottled water to residents in the Pequannock service area, where as many as 18,000 homes have lead service pipes, the suspected culprit behind the city’s water woes.

Newark has also been distributing free PUR water filters and replacement cartridges to the affected residents, which can reduce lead below 10 ppb – under the U.S. EPA's action level of 15 parts-per-billion – when used in combination with flushing, officials say.

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Both the bottled water and the filters were intended to be temporary solutions as Newark officials work towards an ambitious, long-term fix: replacing every lead service line in the city.

“Our message is simple: the filters work, use the filters,” Mayor Ras Baraka said.

Find out what's happening in Newarkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

According to Baraka, the city started its bottled water distribution program “out of an overabundance of caution” when two of three filters tested did not bring lead levels down to the desired parts per billion.

However, the City of Newark – along with the NJ Department of Environmental Protection and the EPA – conducted a “much more comprehensive” follow-up test, taking 1,700 samples from 300 homes, Baraka said.

“The results showed that properly installed PUR filters, issued by the city, are 99 percent effective when used in combination with flushing for at least five minutes before turning on the filter,” Baraka said.

“Those numbers make us comfortable to move forward without bottled water,” the mayor added. “Again, I would like to thank all of our residents for their patience and understanding during this time.”

FREE BOTTLED WATER ENDING IN NEWARK (EXCEPT FOR VULNERABLE)

Beginning Tuesday, Oct. 8, Newark officials will end the bottled water distribution effort which have been taking place at city recreation centers.

Residents will still be able to get free PUR water filters and replacement cartridges at the following three recreation centers from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday to Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday:

  • St. Peter’s Recreation Center, 378 Lyons Avenue
  • Boylan Street Recreation Center, 916 South Orange Avenue
  • Vince Lombardi Center of Hope, 201 Bloomfield Avenue

The recreation centers will be back to their regular hours next week and will be closed on Mondays, city officials said.

Pregnant women and families with children under six years of age will still be able to pick up two cases of bottled water every two weeks, Monday to Friday at the Newark Health Department WIC Program and the Shani Baraka Women’s Resource Center.

  • At the Newark WIC Program at the Department of Health and Community Wellness, 110 William Street, water will be available Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., on Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and on the second and fourth Saturday of every month from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
  • At the Shani Baraka Center, 300 Clinton Avenue, water will be available Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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