Lead in Drinking Water Task Force

Every person in New Jersey deserves a safe, healthy environment that nurtures their full potential. Lead exposure thwarts this basic goal. Across New Jersey, lead in drinking water threatens human health, especially among children.

To address the risks from lead in water, Jersey Water Works, with support from The Fund for New Jersey, convened a 30-member task force of representatives from local, state, and federal governments, water utilities, academia, environmental and public health organizations, and smart growth and community advocacy groups. 

• Beginning in December 2018, the task force worked to determine practical, cost-effective, equitable, and permanent solutions that will ensure people across the state can access drinking water free from the risks of lead.
• In 2021, a new Lead Service Line Implementation Workgroup was created to identify best practices to help water utilities comply with the statutory goal of replacing lead service lines in ten years. To learn more, check out the resource page.  

The task force has released two major reports:

• Lead in Drinking Water: A Permanent Solution for New Jersey
• Lead in Drinking Water in Child Care Facilities: Ensuring the Future for New Jersey’s Children

With a grant from The Fund for New Jersey, staff support for the Lead in Drinking Water Task Force is provided by New Jersey Future, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that promotes sensible growth, redevelopment and infrastructure investments in the state and facilitates the Jersey Water Works collaborative.

See Jersey Water Works latest news on lead in drinking water.

Questions about the JWW Lead in Drinking Water Task Force?

Please contact Jersey Water Works’ Backbone staff Deandrah Cameron at dcameron@njfuture.org or 609-262-3545 x1022.

The Lead In Drinking Water Task Force recently did a 5-year review and evaluation (2019-2023). The scorecard timeline highlights the major milestones of the committee’s work. View the scorecard here.