Lead contamination ‘pervasive’ in drinking water in Atlantic County schools

Lead has been detected in the vast majority of drinking water in school districts across Atlantic County. In two school districts – Galloway Township and Pleasantville – lead was detected in almost half of the faucets and water fountains.

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ WATER QUALITY REPORT

The Atlantic City's water source comes from two surface water reservoirs (Kuehnle Pond Dam and Doughty Pond Dam) and 13 wells. Eleven of these wells are located in the Cohansey Aquifer and two are located in the Kirkwood Aquifer. Well water collected from the well fields is transported to the Atlantic City's Water Treatment Plant Facility. The treatment process includes pretreatment with sodium hypochlorite solution for disinfection, sodium permanganate and poly aluminum chloride addition for turbidity removal, aeration, mixing, settling, and filtration with mixed media (including sand, gravel, and granular-activated carbon). Post treatment includes disinfection, pH adjustment with lime, fluoride addition (Yikes!!), and corrosion inhibitor chemical addition. After the water is treated at the plant, it is transported to Atlantic City via two large transmission mains to be used by all our customers.