Union County, New Jersey: drinking water report. Union County sits in northeastern New Jersey, home to about 570,000 residents in communities like
Union County sits in northeastern New Jersey, home to about 570,000 residents in communities like Elizabeth, Union, and Plainfield. Elizabethtown Water Company (a subsidiary of American Water) serves the majority of the county from surface water sources including the Raritan River system and the Round Valley/Spruce Run reservoir complex.
New Jersey's strict PFAS standards (14 ppt PFOA, 13 ppt PFOS, 13 ppt PFNA) drive aggressive monitoring across Union County. UCMR5 data shows PFAS detections in county systems. The county's dense urban-industrial landscape includes potential PFAS sources from manufacturing, airports, and commercial operations.
According to the New Jersey DEP's 2024 compliance data, two Union County water systems required treatment upgrades to meet state PFAS MCLs. The Raritan River basin receives treated wastewater effluent from upstream communities, contributing to PFAS loading in the source water.
New Jersey's strict standards push utilities to treat for PFAS that would go unregulated in most states. Household filtration adds extra protection.
Check your water for data specific to your provider. Our water filter guide covers options that complement utility treatment. Pull your detailed report, and visit our New Jersey page for statewide data.
Drinking water is one exposure route. These federal datasets also cover Union County, NJ.
The EPA places Union 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.
80% of homes in Union County, NJ were built before 1980, and 37% 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 Union County, NJ averages 7.7 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
9 public water systems serving Union County, NJ have EPA lead testing on record. The reported lead sample skews toward systems that already flagged a problem, so its exceedance rate is not directly comparable with other areas. 4 water systems serving Union County, NJ carry a health-based EPA Safe Drinking Water Act violation.
| Most-cited violation type | Systems affected |
|---|---|
| Lead and Copper Rule | 2 |
| Surface Water Treatment Rule | 1 |
| Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule | 1 |
| Total Trihalomethanes (TTHM) | 1 |
| Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) | 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.