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Local water dashboard

Official source aggregation

Water quality in Newark, NJ 07103

Regional hardness evidence, possible serving systems, EPA compliance history, and the measurements that are—and are not—available for Essex County.

No active health-based violation reported
Largest possible serving system
Newark Water Department
Source water
Surface water
County
Essex County
Profile updated

Your tap water

What does the utility report?

Match the utility name to your water bill. These results describe the utility’s water, not a test at your home. A ZIP can include several water systems.

Utility hardness unavailable in this index

Nearby river or groundwater samples cannot tell us the hardness coming out of your tap. Ask your water provider for total hardness as CaCO₃, or test it at home.

Find an official utility report →

At a glance

What the current records say

Utility-reported hardness

Unavailable

Ask your provider or test your tap

All possible systems

No active flag

0 active health-based records

Utility match

1 system

Serves 294,274 people system-wide

Match the name on your water bill

Your utility’s measurements and compliance records

These are possible serving systems. A record for one system does not apply to every home in this ZIP. Confirm your provider before interpreting a measurement or notice. Federal records can lag current utility notices.

EPA snapshot: 2026Q2. Historical window begins Jan 1, 2021.

Newark Water Department

NJ0714001 · Surface water · 294,274 people served system-wide

A municipal system, in-state city, and served county all agree with this Census ZCTA.

No active health-based record in this imported snapshot

Find this utility’s official report →
Measurements (1)

An action level is a regulatory trigger, not a pass/fail health boundary. A reported zero is the value in the source record and does not establish that lead is absent at your tap.

Lead (90th percentile)

EPA SDWIS Lead and Copper Rule samples

Below action level
Reported level
0 mg/L
Action level
0.015 mg/L

0% of the listed benchmark

Monitoring period: Jan 1, 2025 to Dec 31, 2025

Violation history (2)
Imported violation history for Newark Water Department
RuleStatusPeriod
Lead and Copper RuleHealth-basedResolvedJul 1, 2022 to Dec 31, 2022
Lead and Copper RuleResolvedJul 1, 2021 to Dec 14, 2021

Hardness meter

What does nearby environmental evidence show?

Moderately Hard

PPM

113

GPG

6.6

Regional environmental evidence

USGS hardness classification scale

113 PPM

Soft
0–60
Moderate
61–120
Hard
121–180
Very hard
181+

Parts per million

113

mg/L as CaCO₃ equivalent

Grains per gallon

6.6

1 GPG ≈ 17.1 PPM

How to use regional evidence

These samples describe nearby environmental water. They cannot establish whether your tap water is soft or hard. Use a utility result or a tap test for appliance settings and treatment sizing.

USGS sites used

56

Nearest site

4.1 mi

Observation range

Aug 1, 2016–Sep 25, 2023

Regional evidence confidence

Moderate

Median of the latest source-type-aligned hardness observation at each monitoring site within 25 miles. Nearest monitoring location: West Branch Elizabeth River near Union NJ (Stream).USGS source documentation ↗Evidence tier: Regional environmental evidence. This value is not used as proof of the serving utility's treated-water hardness.

Regional context

Is 07103 typical?

These comparisons use other indexed ZIP estimates, not utility tap samples. They help show local context without replacing a household test.

Newark median

122 PPM

9 PPM lower

9 indexed ZIP readings · Range 108–125 PPM

New Jersey median

80 PPM

33 PPM higher

84 indexed ZIP readings · Range 12.6–296.5 PPM

Evidence-first next steps

Confirm the problem before choosing treatment

This profile can help you ask the right question. It cannot select equipment for a property without a current result from the serving utility or the tap.

1

Confirm the serving system

ZIP boundaries and utility service areas do not perfectly match. Verify the system on a water bill before relying on system-wide records.

3

Test for the decision you face

Use a tap hardness test before sizing a softener. For health concerns, use a certified laboratory and the correct sampling protocol.

Convert your hardness test result →

Nearby indexed reports

More local profiles in Newark

Estimates can differ across a city because monitoring locations and associated systems differ.

View all Newark reports →

Frequently asked

Water questions for Newark

Is tap water safe in Newark?+

EPA ECHO shows no active health-based violation for the associated systems in this reporting snapshot. This does not prove every contaminant is absent; federal records can lag and household plumbing can change tap conditions.

How hard is the water?+

Utility-reported hardness is unavailable in this index. Regional samples do not establish tap-water hardness. Ask your provider or test your tap.

Do I need a water softener?+

Confirm hardness at your tap and consider actual scale or spotting before choosing treatment. Regional environmental values cannot determine whether you need a softener. A softener addresses hardness, not every contaminant.