After six weeks of relying on bottled water to drink, cook and brush their teeth, more than 250,000 residents in northern New Jersey can once again safely drink from the tap.
The Passaic Valley Water Commission said Friday they were lifting the boil water advisory for Paterson, Passaic and neighboring parts of Clifton and Woodland Park that was issued in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. Officials said flood waters from the storm contaminated the open-air reservoir that holds 52 million gallons of treated drinking water, forcing a massive clean up.
Lendel Jones, a spokeswoman for the water commission, said crews flushed more than 4,000 hydrants to clean out the distribution system.
It’s not clear what contaminants were in the water but officials previously said the reservoir water was turbid and could contain animal feces or other chemicals from the surrounding area. The latest water samples show the water is now safe to drink.
The Passaic Valley Water Commission has three open reservoirs but only one was contaminated. In 2009, state officials ordered the Passaic Valley Water Commission to cover their reservoirs, in line with federal law. The reservoirs, however, remain uncovered due to local delays.
“To keep this from happening again, we need to replace the open reservoirs with enclosed water storage tanks,” the water commission said in a statement. “Please support those efforts so we can provide you with clean, quality drinking water.”
Water officials said residents should run the tap for three to five minutes to flush out service lines and interior plumbing, and clean out any automatic ice makers and water chillers.
