Is Howell, NJ tap water safe?
Supplied by New Jersey American Water – Coastal North · serves 377,613 people (139,397 connections) · Surface water · EPA ID NJ1345001
Data: U.S. EPA · How we read the data · How we check it
Most of Howell gets its water from New Jersey American Water – Coastal North. Parts of the city are served by 4 smaller systems: Angle Inn Motor Court Water System (354 people), Green Acres NJ Mhc LLC (260 people), Winding Brook MHP System 2 (184 people), Winding Brook MHP System 1 (80 people). Your water bill names your system.
Buys water from Marlboro Township Water Utility Division. Treated water bought from another system can carry that system's contaminants.
Summary
PFAS above the 2024 federal limits. Systems have until 2029 to meet the PFAS limits.
Is it an emergency? No: PFAS limits are about years of exposure, not a glass of water, and nothing in EPA's data calls for you to stop drinking the water today. If your utility ever issues a boil-water or do-not-drink notice, follow it.
- PFAS
- Above limitPFOA above the federal limit in EPA's 2023–2025 testing (PFOA 7.15 ppt vs a limit of 4 ppt, where ppt = parts per trillion).
- Lead
- Below action level2 ppb (parts per billion) at the 90th percentile: 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below it. Action level 15 ppb, falling to 10 ppb in Nov 2027. Monitoring period ending Jun 2026. Your home's pipes can make yours higher.
- Violations
- Resolved1 health-based violation since 2016, most recently Sep 2019. One required an urgent public notice within 24 hours (the kind behind boil-water notices), most recently Sep 2019. What to do if you get a notice.
- Pregnant, or mixing baby formula with tap water? Babies drink more water for their size, so PFAS exposure matters more for them. Consider bottled water or a filter certified for PFAS for formula, and ask your doctor. Health effects.
- To lower your PFAS exposure now, a home filter certified for PFAS reduction works (reverse osmosis, or activated carbon certified to NSF/ANSI 53 or 58). Filters for these results.
- Built before 1986, or not sure what your service line is made of? Check your service line and test your tap. Utility data can't show your pipes.
- Got a boil-water or do-not-drink notice? What each notice means and what to do.
- Tested your own tap? Compare your result with these numbers. Moving? Compare this system with another.
- Read New Jersey American Water – Coastal North's annual water quality report (Consumer Confidence Report). It lists every regulated contaminant tested and is usually on the utility's website or mailed with your bill, and you can also request it at (732) 547-8783. EPA: how to find it.
PFAS (“forever chemicals”)
EPA UCMR 5: 15 entry points tested Feb 2023 to Jul 2024. "Average" is the highest entry-point average (non-detects counted as zero), the way EPA compares UCMR 5 results to the limits. ppt = parts per trillion. These results do not determine compliance.
| Contaminant | Highest average |
|---|---|
| PFOA Above limit Limit 4 ppt | 7.15 ppt 1.79× the limit |
| PFOS Not detected Limit 4 ppt | – |
| PFHxS Not detected Limit 10 ppt | – |
| PFNA Not detected Limit 10 ppt | – |
| HFPO-DA (GenX) Not detected Limit 10 ppt | – |
| Hazard Index (a combined score for PFHxS, PFNA, GenX and PFBS, where above 1 is over the limit) Detected, below limit Limit 1 | 0.0044 |
| PFBS Detected, below limit Guideline 2,000 ppt | 8.85 ppt |
| PFBA Not detected Guideline 6,000 ppt | – |
| PFHxA Detected, below limit Guideline 3,000 ppt | 4.25 ppt |
| PFPeA Detected, no limit | 4.4 ppt |
| 6:2 FTS Detected, no limit | 1.7 ppt |
New Jersey has its own PFAS limits. PFOA 14 ppt (this system's highest average: 7.15 ppt), PFOS 13 ppt (this system's highest average: not detected), PFNA 13 ppt (this system's highest average: not detected). State compliance is judged on the state's own sampling, so ask the utility or the state program whether it meets them.
For context: the PFOA average is higher than at 72% of the New Jersey systems EPA tested.
29 PFAS tested, 5 detected at least once. "Not detected" means below EPA's reporting limit (about 2 to 20 ppt depending on the chemical), not proven zero. PFAS not listed were not detected. The limits for PFHxS, PFNA, GenX and the Hazard Index were proposed for rescission in May 2026. That proposal is not final. Systems have until 2029 to meet the limits.
Lithium
Detected in 1 of 38 samples. Highest result 10.2 ppb. EPA's non-enforceable screening level is 10 ppb. Below screening level The screening level is how EPA decides what to study further, not a health limit. There is no federal limit for lithium and no filter is certified to remove it. About lithium.
Lead and copper
Latest 90th percentile: 2 ppb lead (Jan 2026 – Jun 2026). Below action level
Highest since 2016: 6 ppb (Dec 2019).
| Monitoring period | Lead (90th pct.) |
|---|---|
| Jan 2026 – Jun 2026 | 2 ppb |
| Jul 2025 – Dec 2025 | 2 ppb |
| Jan 2024 – Dec 2024 | 2 ppb |
Earlier results (9)
| Jan 2023 – Dec 2023 | 2 ppb |
| Jan 2022 – Dec 2022 | 4 ppb |
| Jan 2021 – Dec 2021 | 2 ppb |
| Jan 2020 – Dec 2020 | 3 ppb |
| Jan 2019 – Dec 2019 | 6 ppb |
| Jan 2018 – Dec 2018 | 5 ppb |
| Jul 2017 – Dec 2017 | 3 ppb |
| Jan 2017 – Jun 2017 | 3 ppb |
| Jan 2012 – Dec 2014 | 3 ppb |
Lead comes from pipes and fixtures, not the source water, so it varies home to home. The 90th percentile means 9 in 10 sampled homes were at or below it. More on lead.
Violations
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| Sep 2019 | The water was cloudier than allowed at least once. Cloudiness can shield germs from disinfection. Urgent public notice required What that means EPA record: Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule · Single Turbidity Exceed (Enhanced SWTR) (limit ) Resolved |
Health-based violations mean a contaminant exceeded a limit or a required treatment step was missed. Monitoring and reporting violations mean required tests or reports were late or missing, so the water's quality during that time is unknown. The total includes every violation in EPA's records, most of them paperwork.
Earlier EPA testing (2013–2020)
| Contaminant | Highest | Guideline |
|---|---|---|
| Manganese | 73 ppb | 300 ppb |
| Strontium | 0.51 ppm | 1.5 ppm |
| Chromium-6 | 0.53 ppb | – |
| Chlorate | 760 ppb | 210 ppb |
| 1,4-Dioxane | 0.5 ppb | 0.35 ppb |
Where it serves
Howell, Middletown, Toms River, Freehold, Brick, Lakewood, Ocean, Holmdel, Tinton Falls, Neptune, Eatontown, Aberdeen, Long Branch, Rumson, Oceanport, West Long Branch, Little Silver, Shrewsbury, Union Beach, Red Bank, Fair Haven, Asbury Park, Keansburg, Bradley Beach, Bay Head
35 ZIP codes the system reported serving
07701, 07702, 07704, 07711, 07712, 07716, 07718, 07720, 07722, 07723, 07724, 07728, 07731, 07732, 07733, 07737, 07738, 07739, 07740, 07747, 07748, 07750, 07752, 07753, 07755, 07756, 07757, 07758, 07760, 07764, 08701, 08735, 08738, 08739, 08742
Nearby utilities
- Wall Township Water Dept Wall · 6 mi · PFAS above limit
- Freehold Township Water Dept Freehold · 6 mi · PFAS above limit
- Lakewood Township Municipal Utilities Authority Lakewood · 7 mi · PFAS above limit
- Brick Township Municipal Utilities Authority Brick · 10 mi
- Borough of Springlake Heights Spring Lake · 10 mi · PFAS above limit
- Avon-by-the-Sea Water Department Avon-by-the-Sea · 10 mi · PFAS above limit
Questions
Is Howell tap water safe to drink?
Most of Howell gets its water from New Jersey American Water – Coastal North. New Jersey American Water – Coastal North had 1 health-based violation since 2016, all since resolved. EPA testing found PFAS above the 2024 federal limits, which systems must meet by 2029. Federal data can't tell you about your own pipes: lead comes from service lines and plumbing, so test your tap if your home was built before 1986. For the official word, read the utility's annual Consumer Confidence Report.
Does Howell water have PFAS?
Yes. EPA's 2023–2025 testing of New Jersey American Water – Coastal North found 5 PFAS at least once. The highest entry-point averages were above the federal limit for PFOA: PFOA 7.15 ppt (limit 4 ppt for PFOA and PFOS, 10 ppt for the others).
What is the lead level in Howell water?
The most recent 90th-percentile lead result for New Jersey American Water – Coastal North is 2 ppb, for the period ending Jun 2026. The federal action level is 15 ppb, falling to 10 ppb in November 2027. The 90th percentile means 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below this number. Individual homes can be higher.
Check these numbers yourself
Every figure on this page comes from public EPA records. You don't have to take our word for it:
- EPA's own report for NJ1345001: violations, enforcement and inspections, straight from EPA.
- EPA UCMR 5 data: the PFAS and lithium results (search the file for PWSID NJ1345001).
- EPA SDWIS download: the lead results, population and violation records we use.
- The utility's annual water quality report (Consumer Confidence Report): ask New Jersey American Water – Coastal North at (732) 547-8783, or see EPA's guide to finding it.
Found something that doesn't match? Tell us and we'll check it against EPA's records. How we check our data.
Source: U.S. EPA drinking water records and PFAS testing (UCMR 5). How we read the data.