During a recent interview with Mount Laurel Township Municipal Utilities Authority (MLTMUA) Executive Director Pamela Carolan, Ms. Carolan confidently stated that the Mount Laurel drinking water is safe for consumption.
Backing up this statement, Executive Director Carolan referenced the recently published 2018 Consumer Confidence Report which states, “in 2018, we (MLTMUA) performed over 17,000 analyses on the water we provide; the results in this report confirm that your tap water non only meets federal and state standards for drinking water, it surpasses them.”
Ms. Carolan went on to share that safe drinking water standards are regulated by not only the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) but also the New Jersey State Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). The internal and external laboratories used by the MLTMUA are certified by both the US EPA and the NJDEP. The MLTMUA Water Quality Monitoring Program exceeds required monitoring intervals, resulting in higher quality controls and the delivery of the best water possible.
When asked specifically about perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), (also commonly known as PFCs), Director Carolan stated that “none of these contaminants were detected in MLTMUA’ S water supply.” This testing, she added, was in accordance to USEPA law as it related to the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule 3.
Director Carolan also stated that New Jersey is the first state to set a limit for perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) and testing for these contaminants will begin in 2020. The state limit for PFNA is set to a max contaminant level of 0.013 ug/L (parts per billion).
The risk of lead in the drinking water is very low, according to Ms Carolan, because there is no lead in the source water, there is no lead piping or fittings within the MLTMUA system, and customers do not have lead service lines into their home. Carolan noted that there is lead solder in homes constructed prior to 1986 and there is also lead in brass fittings, but the majority of past test results have been “non-detect” for lead and copper. Action is required with lead and copper test results when 10% of the test sites are over the detection limit of 15 parts per billion; a very strict detection level. Test results higher than this level have only occurred three times out of the thousands of tests performed since the MLTMUA has commenced testing for lead.
The Mount Laurel Municipal Utilities Authority serves over 18,000 households and businesses in the Township. The MLTMUA system contains two elevated water storage tanks with a total capacity of 1.5 million gallons, two ground level water storage tanks with a total capacity of 2 million gallons, 202 miles of water main, 1548 fire hydrants, and 2962 water valves.
The MLTMUA delivers approximately 4 million gallons per day with historical peaks closer to 10 million gallons of water per day.
The MLTMUA also has bulk connections, one each with the Willingboro MUA, Evesham MUA, and three with NJ American Water Company.
MLTMUA processes in excess of 5 million gallons per day (MGD) of clean water in the Summer months and up to 1.2 MGD for the remainder of the year.
The MLTMUA uses three deep wells (600-700’) within the lower Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifer. Drinking water is also sourced from the Willingboro MUA and the NJ American Water Company.
Drinking water in the MLTMUA system is tested year-round. This includes daily sampling dictated by both federal and state regulations. MLTMUA drinking water regularly and consistently meets all regulated parameters thus confirming that water delivered to its customers is safe to use as potable water. The MLTMUA laboratory is certified by the US EPA and the NJDEP
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