Utility Service Affliates, Inc. (USA-Avalon), a subsidiary of Middlesex Water Company, has published their annual report on the quality of the drinking water in the borough of Avalon. The report covers testing conducted in 2023 and is issued to ensure that Avalon’s water meets the standards put forward by the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act. The water system is owned by the Borough of Avalon and USA-Avalon manages and operates it for the borough.
In 2023 approximately 426 million gallons of water were delivered to about 6,475 customer accounts. Avalon’s drinking water originates in the Atlantic City “800-foot” aquifer and is then chlorinated for disinfection before being delivered to customers.
Using the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s (NJDEP) Source Water Assessment Program (SWAP) guidelines, the study has concluded that Avalon’s water system has a low susceptibility to pathogens such as bacteria or viruses, nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen, pesticides, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), radionuclides, and radon. The system does exhibit a medium susceptibility to inorganics like arsenic or nitrates and a high susceptibility to disinfection byproduct precursors, which are “naturally occurring organic matter, mainly in surface waters, that when combined with disinfectants such as chlorine, produce unwanted byproducts.” These rankings are determined by examining the system’s sensitivity to potential contamination and how often the contaminant “is used or exists near the source water.” These rankings do NOT indicate that any drinking water is already contaminated, merely that the potential exists.
The study concluded that Avalon’s drinking water does not contain levels of any detectable contaminants above what is considered safe by the EPA. A full list of over 100 monitored contaminants can be obtained by calling USA-Avalon at 609-222-7910. The full study can be viewed here: https://avalonboro.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Avalon_CCR_2024_E-copy.pdf
If you would like to obtain more information about the report and its findings, or would like to learn about opportunities to be involved in decisions regarding the borough’s drinking water you can reach out to USA-Avalon superintendent Kenneth Koches at 609-222-7910. USA-Avalon can also be reached by mail at Utility Service Affliates, Inc., PO Box 167, Iselin, NJ 08830. Further information about drinking water regulatory programs can be requested from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.
Chart taken from report. Cover image by Bluewater Sweden on Unsplash.
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