Source Water

PVWC withdraws water from the Passaic River in Totowa, New Jersey, and treats it at the Alan C. Levine Little Falls WTP. In the event of water quality issues in the Passaic River, PVWC could also withdraw water from either the Pompton River or the Point View Reservoir (which is filled from the Ramapo River). A USGS water quality monitoring station operates on the Passaic River shortly upstream of the Little Falls WTP intake and just downstream of the Passaic River’s confluence with the Pompton River. This monitoring station provides continuous data for important water quality parameters, and helps provide advanced warning of adverse changes in water quality.

For most neighborhoods in PVWC’s main system, finished water from the Little Falls WTP is blended with finished water obtained from the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission’s (NJDWSC) Wanaque WTP. The NJDWSC’s Wanaque WTP draws its water from the Wanaque Reservoir in Wanaque, New Jersey.

Source Water Assessment
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has prepared Source Water Assessment reports and summaries for all public water systems. The Source Water Assessment for the PVWC system (PWSID NJ1605002) and NJDWSC system (PWSID NJ1613001) can be obtained by accessing NJDEP’s source water assessment web site at http://www.state.nj.us/dep/swap or by contacting NJDEP’s Bureau of Safe Drinking Water at 609-292-5550. If a system is rated highly susceptible for a contamination category, it does not mean a customer is – or will be – consuming contaminated drinking water. The rating reflects the potential for contamination in the source water, not the existence of contamination in the treated drinking water. State and federal regulations require public water systems such as PVWC to monitor for regulated contaminants, and to install treatment if any contaminants are detected at frequencies and concentrations above allowable levels. The source water assessments performed on the intakes for each system list the following susceptibility ratings for a variety of contaminant types that may be present in source waters:

source water chart

Cryptosporidium
Cryptosporidium is a microbial pathogen found in surface water throughout the United States. Although filtration removes Cryptosporidium, the most commonly used filtration methods cannot guarantee 100 percent removal. Ingestion of Cryptosporidium may cause cryptosporidiosis, an abdominal infection. Symptoms of infection include nausea, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps. Most healthy individuals can overcome the disease within a few weeks. However, immuno-compromised people, infants and small children, and the elderly are at greater risk of developing life-threatening illness. We encourage immuno-compromised individuals to consult their doctor regarding appropriate precautions to take to avoid infection.

Cryptosporidium must be ingested to cause disease, and it may spread through means other than drinking water. PVWC completed a source water monitoring program in 2008 in accordance with the requirements of EPA’s Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule. The data collected are presented in the table below. Our monitoring has indicated the possibility of this organism in our source water. Current test methods do not allow us to determine if the organisms are viable or capable of causing disease.

For most neighborhoods in PVWC’s main system, finished water from the Little Falls WTP is blended with finished water obtained from the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission’s (NJDWSC) Wanaque WTP. The NJDWSC’s Wanaque WTP draws its water from the Wanaque Reservoir in Wanaque, New Jersey.

Source Water Assessment
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has prepared Source Water Assessment reports and summaries for all public water systems. The Source Water Assessment for the PVWC system (PWSID NJ1605002) and NJDWSC system (PWSID NJ1613001) can be obtained by accessing NJDEP’s source water assessment web site at http://www.state.nj.us/dep/swap or by contacting NJDEP’s Bureau of Safe Drinking Water at 609-292-5550. If a system is rated highly susceptible for a contamination category, it does not mean a customer is – or will be – consuming contaminated drinking water. The rating reflects the potential for contamination in the source water, not the existence of contamination in the treated drinking water. State and federal regulations require public water systems such as PVWC to monitor for regulated contaminants, and to install treatment if any contaminants are detected at frequencies and concentrations above allowable levels. The source water assessments performed on the intakes for each system list the following susceptibility ratings for a variety of contaminant types that may be present in source waters:

source water chart
Contact Us

Office Hours:
Monday-Friday
7:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Main Office:
Passaic Valley Water Commission
1525 Main Avenue
Clifton, NJ 07011

Telephone: 973-340-4300
Fax: 973-340-5598

Emergency:
By calling Customer Service 973-340-4300 at any time, day or night, Passaic Valley Water Commission will respond to water emergency situations for you.

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