the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, eating just one serving of freshwater fish each year could have the same effect as drinking water heavily polluted with “forever chemicals” for an entire month, a new study finds.The equivalent month long amount of water would be contaminated at levels 2,400 times greater than what’s recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) drinking water health advisories, according to the study, published Tuesday in Environmental Research.
The research added that locally caught freshwater fish are far more polluted than commercial catches with per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) — so-called forever chemicals that are notorious for their persistence in the body and the environment. PFAS are key ingredients in jet fuel firefighting foam, industrial discharge and many household products, including certain types of food packaging. For decades, they have leached into drinking water supplies while also contaminating irrigated crops and fish that inhabit local waterways.
On January 15th 2023 Ridgewood Water notified customers of the Water Utility that the water system is in violation of the New Jersey drinking water PFOA and PFOS standards or maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) at the points of entry listed on page four of this public notice. The most recent public notice and update regarding this matter are also available at https://water.ridgewoodnj.net/pfas-resources/.
Ridgewood Water will continue to provide you with an updated public notice every 3 months until we complete all approved remedial measures and return to compliance with the PFOA and PFOS MCLs. During the fourth quarter 2021 sampling period ending on December 31, 2021, we initially exceeded the MCLs for PFOA and PFOS at eighteen (18) points of entry.
The water system is required to take any action necessary to bring the water into compliance with the applicable MCL within one-year from the initial violation. Our water system did not remediate the PFOA and PFOS MCL violations at these eighteen (18) points by the one-year deadline of November 30, 2022. New Jersey adopted a standard, or MCL, for PFOA in 2020 and monitoring began in 2021. The MCL for PFOA is 14 parts per trillion (ppt) and is based on a running annual average (RAA), in which the four most recent quarters of monitoring data are averaged.
The RAA for PFOA, based on samples collected over the last four quarters at the exceeding treatment plants, are between 15.3 – 26.8 ppt.
New Jersey adopted a standard, or MCL, for PFOS in 2020 and monitoring began in 2021. The MCL for PFOS is 13 parts per trillion (ppt) and is based on a RAA, in which the four most recent quarters of monitoring data are averaged. The RAA for PFOS, based on samples collected over the last four quarters at the exceeding treatment plants, are between 13.5 – 14.7 ppt.
Ridgewood Water has been working closely with New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) on this issue since 2020. Our Master Plan for designing, purchasing, integrating, and testing a permanent PFAS treatment system was completed in 2020, approved by the Village of Ridgewood Council in February 2021. NJDEP reviewed Ridgewood Water’s PFAS treatment Master Plan in November 2021.
As part of the Master Plan, Ridgewood Water is centralizing PFAS treatment by consolidating from thirty-one (31) treatment plants to twelve (12) treatment plants to provide the most efficient treatment. January 15, 2023 Repeat Notice Page 2 of 4 Implementation of that Plan is well underway. A PFAS treatment system was constructed and made active at the Carr Treatment Plant in 2019. A second PFAS treatment system was recently installed at the Twinney Treatment Plant in August 2022 and is pending NJDEP approval. The utility has awarded contracts and are in the permit approval process with NJDEP for the Ames, Cedar Hill, Wortendyke, & Prospect PFAS Treatment Plants.
A permit has already been approved for the Ravine/Marr Treatment Plant. We plan to break ground on all of those projects in 2023. Design, permitting, and construction of treatment systems at other Ridgewood Water plants will continue this year and into 2023 and 2024. Additionally, Ridgewood Water purchases water from Veolia, and has established and activated a new interconnection with Passaic Valley Water Commission for additional water supply.
Both purchased water sources are compliant with PFAS regulations. Integrating PFAS treatment systems into our existing treatment plants to address the contamination is complex, time-consuming, expensive – and necessary. We are dedicated to clean up the contamination, which was caused by others. We are in court to hold those companies who are responsible for the contamination accountable, so that they, not you, pay the costs of getting the job done.
PFAS from foods or drinks build up in your body and stay there for a long time. Some studies suggest that high levels of PFAS can lead to things like:
- Higher cholesterol levels
- Developmental effects or delays in children
- Changes to your immune system
- Thyroid problems
- A higher chance of kidney, prostate, or testicular cancer
- Increased cholesterol levels
- Higher blood pressure during pregnancy
this is scary !
time to sell Ridgewood Water ASAP !
more bad new for Ridgewood Water
Stop the construction, tap further into Veolia, and others, and SELL this utility before no one wants it. I read that Allendale pocketed about $18 million or so for the sale of theirs. What is to think about. Do it.
Well, as long as they are “working on it” and “have a plan”, then everything is OKie-Dokie.
We can continue to get poison in the water they supply with no Consequences to RW Water.
All they need to do is keep issuing annual reports detailing how ineffective they are at providing safe water and they have carte blanche to get paid for sending poison to our homes and avoid criminal prosecution.
Nice work if you can get it…
Anyone out there know what Ridgewood ‘s company is worth.
Clearly this is a problem throughout the USA. Micro-plastics in the water. This does not appear to be Ridgewood H2O unique or something that would get better if the company/utility was sold.
so said the RW Water Company Representative…