Canal Walk, Somerset, New Jersey | Drinking Water Sampling and Testing Outreach Program

Canal Walk Community is located in Somerset, New Jersey.  This  is an Active Adult (55-plus) community with over one thousand residents including single family homes, townhouses / town homes, and condominiums. The community center features indoor and outdoor swimming pools, fitness center, library, business center, spas, tennis courts, and billiard room.

Canal Walk Homeowners Association, Somerset, New Jersey 08873 - The website for the Canal Walk HOA is canalwalkhoa.com.  This portal is part of the community outreach efforts for the Health and Safety Team that is part of a project with the KnowYourH20 Program.  If you would like to contact the Health and Safety Team or even better become part of this team – Contact Us.

The main goal and objective of this portal is to provide information on the communities’ drinking water quality and to provide a one-stop location to get the links and contact information, and technical information you need to make an informed decision.

Source of our Drinking Water:

Franklin Township Department of Public Works – City of Somerset – Population Served – 56,3000

The source of water appears to be “purchased surface water” from three sources, i.e., NJ American Water (Raritan), South Brunswick Water Department (Somerset), and New Brunswick Water Department (New Brunswick).  The contact information for the municipality is:

Franklin Township Municipal Complex
475 DeMott Lane
Somerset, NJ 08873
732-873-2500
www.franklintwpnj.org

Letter Dated 12/08/2021 (PDF) – “Franklin Township Water Division Did not Meet Water Quality Parameter (WQP) Levels.” From the letter, “During the first half of 2021 (January – June), we had a small number of sample which fell out of the range for pH as tested directly at our nine interconnections . . . We also tested separately for Lead and Copper at sixty location throughout the Township every six months.  We have been in compliance with our Lead and Copper levels in the past decade.”

The website for the Franklin Township Water Authority
‍www.franklintwpnj.org/departments/water-utility

Link to Virtual Town Council Reorganization/Work Session meeting on January 4, 2022 - Council meeting –
‍www.franklintwpnj.org/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/19200/19.  
The topic of drinking water starts at 1 hour and 27 minutes into the video.

Neighborhood Environmental Hazard Report for Canal Walk Community
What are the known historic hazards in the Community? 
To address this issue, the Keystone Clean Water Team and the KnowYourH20 Program conducted a Neighborhood Environmental Hazard Report. 

The site-specific report indicated that there were no Environmental Records within 300 feet of the target location, but within 1 mile there were:
- 13 state hazardous waste sites
- 1 hazardous waste treatment /storage facility
- A number of sites with no geolocation
View Neighborhood Environmental Hazard Report (PDF)

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Three of the hazardous sites were reported active, so we provided a Neighborhood Environmental Hazard Report for:
Pillar of Fire (PDF)
Lightbridge Academy (PDF)
Universal Media Charter School (PDF)
(Please note the disclaimer and copyright notice on the documentation and this information was provided to the client for informational and an educational purpose).

More Information

The compliance information for the system can be found using the EPA Enforcement and Compliance History
View Compliance Information  

The violation history appears to be related to monitoring and reporting issues.
Based on a water quality dataset and review from the period from 2013 to 2019. The following were the Contaminants Detected in the water.  These contaminants fall into three categories: chlorine-by-products, metals, and general water quality.  (Source)

Chlorine –By Products

Chlorate – 175.3 ppb – there is no specific standard, but there is a goal standard of 800 ppb.

Trihalomethanes - TTHM is a contaminant group that includes bromodichloromethane, bromoform, chloroform and dibromochloromethane.  

Total Trihalomethanes – 24.2 ppb – drinking water standard is 80 ppb

Bromodichloromethane – 5.88 ppb – there is no specific drinking water standard.

Bromoform – 0.0479 ppb  – there is no specific drinking water standard.

Chloroform – 16.6 ppb – there is no specific drinking water standard.

Dibromochlormethane – 1.73 ppb – there is no specific drinking water standard.

HAA5 is a contaminant group that includes monochloroacetic acid, dichloroacetic acid, trichloroacetic acid, monobromoacetic acid and dibromoacetic acid.

Haloacetic Acids  (HAA5) – 16.9 ppb – drinking water standard is 60 ppb  (OK)

Monochloroacetic acid – 0.0888 ppb – there is no specific drinking water standard.

Dichloroacetic acid – 8.52 ppb– there is no specific drinking water standard.

Trichloroacetic acid – 7.78 ppb – there is no specific drinking water standard.

Monobromoacetic acid – 0.177 ppb – there is no specific drinking water standard.

Dibromoacetic acid – 0.338 ppb – there is no specific drinking water standard.

Haloacetic Acids (HAA9) – 17.5 ppb – there is no specific drinking water standard.

HAA9 is a contaminant group that includes the chemicals in HAA5 and bromochloroacetic acid, bromodichloroacetic acid, chlorodibromoacetic acid and tribromoacetic acid.

Nitrate – 0.70 ppm – the primary drinking water standard is 10 ppm NO3-N/L  (link to

Strontium 0.121 ppb – there is no specific drinking water standard.

Vanadium 0.263 ppb – there is no specific drinking water standard.

Chromium (Hexavalent) – 0.101 ppb – there is no specific drinking water standard.

Chromium (Total) – 0.363 ppb   - drinking water standard is 100 ppb (OK)  

Manganese – 11.7 ppb – secondary standard 0.05 mg/L (50 ppb) (ok)  - this may be associated with aesthetic problems that include black coatings and films.  

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Water Quality Report

View the 2020 Water Quality Report (PDF)

In reviewing the 2020 Water Quality Report for the Townshipof Franklin, the primary items were identified.

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Franklin Township Water Department

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1. There were no violations of the Copper drinking water standards or action levels. The level that was detected was 0.25 ppb (first half of 2020) and 0.28 ppb (second half 2020). The action level is 1.3 mg/L (1300 ppb), but Copper can create nuisance issues at 1.0 mg/L (1000 ppb).
 
2. There was no violation of the Lead drinking water standards or action level.  The level that was detected was 2 ppb (first half of 2020) and 2.98 ppb (second half 2020). The action level is 15 mg/L (15 ppb) for delivered water, but the level of Lead from a source is 5 ppb.
 
3. Trihalomethanes were detected and ranged from 3 to 97 ppb with a local running average of 59 ppb. Therefore, it appears that some samples may have exceeded 80 ppb, but there was not enough to cause a regulatory violation.
 
4. HAA5-Haloacetic Acid  were detected and ranged from 6 to 70 ppb with a local running average of 46 ppb. Therefore, it appears that some samples may have exceeded 60 ppb, but there was not enough to cause a regulatory violation.



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5. Chlorine was detected at a level of 0.3 to 15 ppm with an average of 0.6 ppm. The Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level (MRDL) is 4 ppm.  Therefore, it appears that some samples may have exceeded 4 mg/L, but this did not trigger a regulatory violation.

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New Jersey American

1. Nitrate was detected at a level of 1.1 to 1.7 mg/L. No violations and this does not exceed the drinking water standard of 10 mg/L.

2. Radioactive – Gross Alpha was detected in the water and the highest level was 9.0 pCi/L. This does not exceed the drinking water limit of  15 pCi/L.  Uranium was detected in the water and the highest level was 5.7 ppb, which does not exceed the drinking water standard of 30 ppb.

3. Historic testing for Cryptosporidium and Giardia showed the finished water had reported levels for Cryptosporidium (not detected to 0.9 oocysts/L) and Giardia (not detected to 0.62 cysts/L) for the Raritan – Millstone Plant and Cryptosporidium (not detected to 0.46 oocysts/L) and Giardia (not detected to 0.73 cysts/L) for the Canal Road Plant.

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City of New Brunswick

1. The water also contained detectable levels of Barium (0.04 ppm) , which does not exceed the drinking water standard of 2 ppm; nickel (0.66 ppb), which does not exceed the EPA Drinking Water Equivalent Level of 700 ppb); nitrate (0.54 ppm); which does not the standard of 10 ppm.

2. The level of Chlorine in the water ranged from 0.5 to 2.04 ppm, which does not exceed the MRDL of 4 ppm.

3. A series of “unregulated” contaminants were also tested and detected in the drinking water. These included Bromide, Chlorate, Chromium (total), “Forever Chemicals (PFBA, PFBS, PFHpA, PFHxA, PFHsxS), Strontium, Vanadium, Bromochloroacetic acid, Chlorodibromoacetic acid, Chlorodibromoacetic acid, HAA9, and HAA5.

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General Summary

1. The issue related to the December 2021 letter from the water authority was related to the water pH.  Since the source of the drinking water is from sources that rely on surface water, the source may be vulnerable to activities in the watershed that can influence the water pH. In addition, the pH is likely controlled or influence by the water treatment process and it is possible that a low pH in the distribution system may be related to biochemical activities in the distribution system. Low pH can be associated with Corrosion and/or the presence of microbiologically induced Corrosion.    

ACTION:

How can I test the pH of my water at home?

Choice 1:  Purchase a pH meter

Choice 2: Purchase an In-home Screening Test that includes Lead, Bacteria, pH, Pesticide (screen), Iron, Copper, Nitrate + Nitrite, Chlorine, Alkalinity and Hardness with a TDS meter.  The meter is reusable, but the other parameters are a single use test.  Great Low Cost Tool!

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Do I have a Corrosion Problem?  How do I get my water tested for Corrosion Problems?  ‍

Purchase a CorrosionCheck Testing Kit

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How do I get may water tested for a range of water quality problems including metals, organics, and chlorine by-products?  

Purchase a Standard City Water Testing Kit

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How do I test for Forever Chemicals in my drinking water?  

Purchase a Testing kit from ResinTech

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2. The historic testing suggests the system is meeting drinking water standards, but users may want to polish the water to remove the detectable levels of Chlorine By-products, Radiological Particles, trace metals, and the Forever Chemicals, but there does not appear to be any specific health standards.    

ACTION:

We do not recommend removing all the chlorine from the household water, but you may want to consider the installation of a point-of-use filter that can be placed on the counter, under the counter, or an inline filter for your refrigerator.  Point of use filters can also provide effective barriers against waterborne disease associated with Giardia, Cryptosporidium, Copper, Lead, and other trace metals and organics.  The selection of the best point of use device is a function of your water quality and your specific health or personal concerns.  A one size fits all approach may not be advisable.  

For point-of-use filters we recommend our partner Crystal Quest.

Visit our Partner Page for Crystal Quest

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For Example:

Primary Concern is Waterborne Contaminants and some organics – we would recommend the Ceramic Filtration Unit‍\

Primary Concern is Chorine By-products and Heavy Metals – we would recommend the Smart Filtration Unit

Primary Concern is Lead– we would recommend the Lead filtration Unit‍

‍If you have a specific problem or question, we recommend the following:

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1. Try our Drinking Water Self-Diagnostic Tool (See Video Below)
2. Contact Us with your questions or concerns – link to contact form.
3. Report Water Quality Issues or concerns to the Canal Walk Health and Safety Team and Franklin Township Water Authority - Contact Franklin Township Water Utility Department

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Other Links or Resources

Get Consumer Confidence Reports for other systems in the USA