Water softeners and filtration in Salem County

Local findings

• PFAS from Chambers Works

  Decades of discharges from the Chambers Works plant in Carneys Point and Pennsville put PFAS in local groundwater. Under NJDEP directives, Chemours samples nearby private wells and provides a permanent water source where PFOA, PFOS, or PFNA exceed state standards.

  Source: NJDEP: DuPont / Chemours sites

Across the region

• Acidic, iron-prone well water

  This area sits on the sandy aquifers of the Coastal Plain. Water in the widely used Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer is naturally acidic, which can corrode pipes and leave blue-green stains, and some aquifers here carry a lot of iron. USGS testing also found radium above the federal limit in about a third of sampled Kirkwood-Cohansey wells in southern New Jersey.

• PFAS limits

  New Jersey was the first state to set limits for PFAS "forever chemicals": 14 parts per trillion for PFOA and 13 for PFOS and PFNA. Public utilities must meet them. Private wells are only tested when a home is sold or leased.

• Hardness varies by town

  New Jersey's median tap water is moderately hard, about 5 grains per gallon, and it changes a lot from one supplier to the next. Your water test tells you exactly where you stand.