Since the beginning of its operation in the 1920’s, the Park Ridge Water department and the Board of Public Works’ goal has been to provide a clean and reliable drinking water supply to its 5,000 customers in both Park Ridge and Woodcliff Lake. 

Park Ridge is not only committed to meeting all Federal and State standards for drinking water but to also find and provide treatment if available for Unregulated Contaminants.

Unregulated Contaminants in drinking water are contaminants that do not have health-based standards set under the Safe Drinking Water Act. (SDWA)

The Borough of Park Ridge has been monitoring concentrations of PFOA since 2020, and planning for the necessary treatment when it was determined that concentrations of PFOA were trending towards the then-pending New Jersey Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL). The engineering design for new PFOA treatment at these three offline treatment facilities is currently being completed and we anticipate that the final design will be submitted to the NJDEP for review and approval by March 2022. We anticipate having treatment PFOA installed at all three facilities by December 2022. You will receive additional PFOA notification letters until the water treatment facilities are online and our system’s RAAs are in compliance with the PFOA MCL.

What are PFOA and PFAS? 

• Perfluorotanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctanesulfonic Acid (PFOS), along with Perfluoronoanoic Acid (PFNA), are chemicals within a larger class of chemicals known as Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
• PFAS do not occur naturally, but are widespread and extremely persistent in the environment.
• They are man-made chemicals that have been used to make carpets, clothing, fabric for furniture, paper packaging for food, and other materials (such as non-stick cookware) that are resistant to water, grease or stains. They are also used for firefighting at airfields and in a number of industrial processes.
• Due to recent New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) rules, many water utilities throughout the state, including the Borough of Park Ridge, will be required to install new treatment processes to eliminate these chemicals that are found in their source water. Other nearby utilities affected include Ridgewood, Garfield, Waldwick, Ho-Ho-Kos, Oakland, and the Passaic Valley Water Commission. 

What are the Health Risks? 

• The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set a health advisory level of a maximum 70 ng/L (nanograms per Liter) for PFOA and PFOS, either individually or combined.
• The Borough of Park Ridge’s water has concentrations well below those EPA health advisory levels.
• The new DEP “Maximum Contaminant Levels” (MCLs) are 14 ng/L for PFOA and 13 ng/L for PFOS.
• Note: 1 ng/L = 1 part per trillion (ppt), and would be the concentration of one drop split among 20 Olympic-sized swimming pools
• The DEP limits appear to have been established due to an abundance of caution and a concern about consumption of water over an entire lifetime.

FAQ's:

How much PFOA is there in Park Ridge water?

• PFOA levels range from below detection to 19 nanograms per liter (= parts per trillion), depending on the dates and points of entry* tested from 2020 to 2021 (*where treated water enters the system). 

Where do PFOA and PFAS come from?

• PFOA and PFOS do not occur naturally. They are man-made chemicals that have been used to make carpets, clothing, fabric for furniture, paper packaging for food, and other materials (such as non-stick cookware) that are resistant to water, grease or stains. They are also used for firefighting at airfields and in a number of industrial processes. These compounds have entered the groundwater used to supply the Park Ridge and Woodcliff Lake customers, and appear to be fairly wide-spread in the area, as well as throughout many areas of New Jersey, New York, and other areas of the U.S.A. 

Other Information: 

• Boiling water does NOT remove or neutralize PFOA or PFOS.
• No home filter or filtering system is certified by the DEP at this time for removing PFOA or PFOS from drinking water. The NJ Department of Health advises that SOME granulated activated carbon filters or reverse osmosis filters can reduce the level of PFAS in drinking water. The Borough cannot make recommendations on products.
• Pursuant to NJDEP regulations, the Borough of Park Ridge will re-issue a notice quarterly until regulatory MCLs are reached via treatment.

Other resources on this topic are listed below:

• NJ Department of Health Water Facts on PFAS
• US Environmental Protection Agency – Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) Substances
• US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) Substances and Your Health
• The Public Health and Safety Organization – Search for NSF Certified Drinking Water Treatment Units, Water Filters

Letter to Residents