PFAS in the drinking water of NJ American Water - Short Hills: 14.7 ng/L, 29.4x our 0.5 ng/L benchmark

In the latest UCMR 5 entry-point sample on November 8, 2023, the four most closely watched PFAS added up to at least 14.7 ng/L, 29.4 times the 0.5 ng/L health benchmark pfasnearme uses. PFOA and PFOS were above the 4.0 ng/L federal MCL that systems must meet from April 2029. EPA set the maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG) for PFOA and PFOS at zero because there is no level without risk. UCMR 5 results do not indicate compliance or noncompliance with the PFAS drinking water standards, and this site reports published measurements without judging health risk. This is not medical advice. If you are concerned, talk to your water system or your doctor.

The Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5) had every large US water system and a sample of small ones test 29 PFAS and lithium between 2023 and 2025, at each entry point to the distribution system. EPA set minimum reporting levels of 3 to 4 ng/L for PFOA, PFOS, PFNA and PFHxS and reports nothing below them. A result "below the 3 to 4 ng/L reporting limit" therefore means the lab could not quantify the compound, not that it is absent, and it is never shown here as zero.

0.5 ng/L for the PFAS-4 sum (PFOA + PFOS + PFNA + PFHxS) is the health benchmark pfasnearme applies on every page, in Europe and the United States, built from the European Food Safety Authority's tolerable intake with stricter safety choices. 4.0 ng/L is the enforceable federal maximum contaminant level for PFOA and for PFOS individually under EPA's PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR), the US legal limit. Any PFAS-4 compound quantified under UCMR 5 (at or above 3 to 4 ng/L) is above the benchmark, so the benchmark tells you whether anything was found and the MCL tells you whether the system would have to act. EPA set the maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG) for PFOA and PFOS at zero because there is no level without risk.

EPA published the PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) on April 26, 2024. Systems must finish initial monitoring by April 26, 2027, tell customers about PFAS in their 2027 Consumer Confidence Reports, and comply with the PFOA and PFOS MCLs from April 26, 2029. Two proposals published on May 20, 2026 are not final: one would let systems in states where EPA holds primacy extend PFOA and PFOS compliance to April 26, 2031; the other would rescind the PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA MCLs and the Hazard Index while keeping PFOA and PFOS. The rule is also before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (American Water Works Association v. EPA, argued 2026-09-18 before Judges Millett, Pillard and Wilkins; no decision). Regulation data retrieved September 19, 2026.

Yes. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), Bureau of Safe Drinking Water enforces MCLs under N.J.A.C. 7:10: PFNA 13 ng/L (since September 4, 2018); PFOA 14 ng/L (since June 1, 2020); PFOS 13 ng/L (since June 1, 2020). The federal PFOA and PFOS MCLs (4.0 ng/L) are stricter than every state MCL, so the federal line is about severity and the state line is about what is enforceable today. In this UCMR 5 sample, no compound was above a New Jersey MCL. State monitoring: quarterly compliance monitoring since 2021.

Only if NJ American Water - Short Hills (PWSID NJ0712001) is your water system: check your water bill or your ZIP code page on this site, or the Warren County page. Samples are taken at the entry point to the distribution system, not at your tap. The system may have changed sources or installed treatment since this sample. PFAS treatment reported to EPA: ion exchange (IEX), no PFAS treatment reported (NMT). The system's own Consumer Confidence Report, published every year, states what it measures today.

Ask NJ American Water - Short Hills for its latest PFAS results and its plan for the 2029 MCLs, read its Consumer Confidence Report (EPA's CCR finder, PWSID NJ0712001), and if you want to lower PFAS at home, use a filter certified to NSF/ANSI 53 or 58 for PFOA and PFOS (reverse osmosis and activated carbon block filters; see the filter comparison linked on this page). Boiling water does not remove PFAS.

At the headline entry point, the PFAS-4 sum rose across the 30 UCMR 5 sampling events since February 10, 2023 (up to 14.7 ng/L). pfasnearme reports a trend only from a change of at least 25 % and 1 ng/L.

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5), final dataset August 2026, retrieved 2026-09-19. Public domain. Results are entry-point samples and do not indicate compliance with drinking water standards. System registry from EPA SDWIS/ECHO (2026Q2 edition); service areas from EPA ORD (model code MIT); geography from the U.S. Census Bureau. pfasnearme retrieved the data on September 19, 2026.