Gloucester County, New Jersey: drinking water report. Gloucester County sits across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, with about 302,000 residents.
Gloucester County sits across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, with about 302,000 residents. Most communities rely on groundwater from the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer system, one of the largest shallow aquifers on the East Coast. New Jersey American Water serves many of the county's municipalities. The aquifer's shallow depth and sandy composition make it productive but also vulnerable to contamination from surface activities.
The Lipari Landfill in Pitman was once ranked the nation's worst Superfund site. According to EPA records, the landfill accepted chemical waste from Philadelphia-area industries during the 1950s-1970s, and volatile organic compounds migrated into the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer. While active remediation has reduced contamination levels, the plume remains under long-term monitoring.
PFAS is a newer concern. New Jersey's PFAS MCLs – among the nation's strictest – have triggered detections across Gloucester County water systems. The NJDEP's 2024 monitoring data identified PFNA exceedances in two public systems before treatment upgrades. Agricultural activity in the county's southern half adds nitrate loading to the shallow aquifer.
The Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer's shallow, sandy nature means it responds quickly to surface contamination – both absorbing pollution and, on the positive side, responding to cleanup efforts. If you are on a private well, annual testing is essential.
Check your water for the latest data at your address. For the mix of legacy industrial compounds, PFAS, and agricultural nitrate common in this area, reverse osmosis provides the most comprehensive household protection. Our water filter guide details certified systems. Pull your detailed report for historical context, and visit our New Jersey page for statewide patterns.
Drinking water is one exposure route. These federal datasets also cover Gloucester County, NJ.
The EPA places Gloucester County, NJ in Zone 2 - a moderate-risk category, with a predicted average indoor radon level between 2 and 4 pCi/L. Zone maps predict an area's radon potential from geology and existing indoor readings; they say nothing about a specific house. Testing is the only way to know your own level.
52% of homes in Gloucester County, NJ were built before 1980, and 15% before 1950. Residential lead paint was banned in 1978, so housing age is the strongest available proxy for lead-paint exposure. This describes the county's housing stock, not any one home.
Modelled annual fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) in Gloucester County, NJ averages 7.3 µg/m³, within the EPA's annual standard of 9 µg/m³. These are CDC modelled county estimates rather than readings from a specific monitor.
How radon zones work · Air quality by county · Lead exposure guide
Across 30 public water systems serving Gloucester County, NJ with EPA lead testing on record, 1 (3.3%) reported a 90th-percentile lead result above the EPA's 15 ppb action level, and the median is 2.2 ppb. 9 water systems serving Gloucester County, NJ carry a health-based EPA Safe Drinking Water Act violation.
| Most-cited violation type | Systems affected |
|---|---|
| Lead and Copper Rule | 6 |
| Surface Water Treatment Rule | 1 |
| Revised Total Coliform Rule | 1 |
| Gross Alpha (excl. radon & uranium) | 1 |
| Combined Radium (226 + 228) | 1 |
Source: EPA Lead and Copper Rule 90th-percentile tap sampling and EPA SDWIS Safe Drinking Water Act enforcement records, aggregated from the public water systems serving this county. Figures are counts of water systems, not a test of any individual home or tap.