FREEHOLD – No public health concerns have been reported in Freehold Borough’s water system.
On April 1, engineer Brian Dougherty of Mott MacDonald provided the Borough Council with an update on the status of the borough’s water utility. In his report, Dougherty stated that the water in Freehold Borough is safe.
Dougherty’s update followed concerns about the possibility of Freehold Borough’s water being contaminated by polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
PFAS are man-made chemicals that are believed to lead to adverse health outcomes in humans, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
According to Dougherty, no PFAS contamination has been detected in the borough’s water sources.
He made note of a drinking water report from the Environmental Working Group, which presents data from the EPA and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for each of the state’s large water utility systems that serve more than 10,000 people. The report deemed Freehold Borough’s water system to be in compliance with federal health-based drinking water standards.
Dougherty also spoke about the most recent Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) distributed by the borough in 2018 which noted that water delivered to the borough’s water utility customers meets or exceeds all DEP Safe Drinking Water regulations for finished water quality.
Dougherty acknowledged Freehold Borough has received DEP violations over the past five years, but said the violations are related to monitoring and reporting, and not to finished water quality.
He said the violations have been due to water quality results being submitted late by the borough’s laboratory, plan revisions being submitted to the DEP past a due date, and the CCR being submitted late to the DEP.
Dougherty told council members the violations do not represent a public health concern and were resolved in a timely manner with the DEP.