The water situation in Newark has not been good for a while. In 2017, more than 22 percent of the samples from its water system tested during the first half of the year exceeded 15 parts per billion of lead, the federal threshold requiring action. Elevated levels have remained in the system for each of the ensuing six-month monitoring periods. The city finally had to act when an engineering study commissioned by the city found that measures to prevent lead from leaching into drinking water were failing at one of Newark’s two treatment plants.
The city is now acting; it has given 40,000 water filters across the city of 285,000 people, targeting tens of thousands of residences. The state has warned that children under 6 in homes with lead pipes served by the plant should not drink unfiltered tap water.
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