Full Notification

In July 2021, the Lead Service Line Replacement Law  was enacted, which requires community water systems in New Jersey to identify and replace all lead service lines within 10 years. Under this law, as well as a new regulatory requirement from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, water systems must send notices to consumers at a property when they are served by a lead or unknown service line.
 
The Waldwick Water Department is currently working on “Dig & Determines” which is a part of a larger required inventory of all service line materials throughout town. This work requires the Water Department to dig down around the water curb box to check the service line material for lead or galvanized service lines. The curb boxes are typically located in the right-of-way between the street and the sidewalk and should not affect the main property.

In order to perform this type of work, the State of New Jersey requires that the location of underground installations (e.g., sewer, telephone, electrical, fuel, natural gas, water and other lines, as well as underground tanks) must be identified and marked out prior to work that involves any digging operation. The Water Department is performing this work along our 2025 Road Paving Program route before the paving begins, so you may see different colored flags for the mark outs near or on your property. This does not mean any digging will be done on your property and should stay limited to the small area around the curb box. The disturbed area will be restored after the work has finished. You may notice small flags of different colors on the following roads over the next several weeks.

2025 Road Paving Street List:

• Rustic Drive
• Ackerman Street
• Grove Street-Nordham-Ridge
• Richard Drive
• Cherles Terrace
• Albert Place
• Herbert Drive
• Floral Lane (Midland Park)-Hemlock-Evergreen

 
Additional Lead Service Line Information:

What is a Lead Service Line?
A service line is the underground pipe that connects the water main to your home or building. Service lines can be made of a variety of materials, such as plastic, copper, galvanized metals, or lead. Ownership of the service line varies by water system but is frequently split between the water system and the property owner. The only way to determine the service line material is to perform the “dig and determine” as explained above.

Lead service lines are a significant source of lead in drinking water in residential homes. A lead service line is a service line made of lead or a service line connected to a lead pigtail, lead gooseneck, or other lead fitting. In New Jersey, galvanized service lines are also considered lead service lines.

You may have previously received a 'Notice of Unknown Service Line Composition' letter from us. Below is some helpful information about that notice.

• Why did you receive the letter? The NJDEP and USEPA require an inventory of all service line materials for all water systems which we have been working to identify and update since at least 2021.
• Starting November 15, 2024, the USEPA now requires that water systems must notify people if the full extent of the service line has not been completely identified yet (both privately owned and publicly owned portions as shown on the diagram in the letter you received).
• Since the materials are unknown, the letter provides the USEPA required ‘Health Effects of Lead’ and ‘Steps You Can Take to Reduce Exposure to Lead in Drinking Water.’
• We are continuing to work on updating our inventory and to meet the NJ requirement of replacement of all lead and galvanized service lines by 2031. 
• We routinely test for lead and copper in our system as required by the NJDEP and USEPA, and have met the Safe Drinking Water Standards.

Here is a link to the NJDEP webpage regarding these letters:
https://dep.nj.gov/lead/notices/

How Can I Identify My Service Line Material?

• Visit: https://dep.nj.gov/lead/identification/ for more information. 

If you have any additional questions, please contact the Water Department at 201-652-5300 ext. 205.

Thank you for your cooperation.