Skip to content
TapBuff
ZIP

Montague Water Co.

What EPA’s and CDC’s records show in this utility’s water: nitrate, arsenic and other regulated chemicals; lead and copper; and violations since 2016, with the certification that handles each result.

Serves
2,165 people
Connections
802
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Montague Twp., NJ
County
Sussex
Owner
Private
The ZIP code it serves

07827

The short answer

3 results are above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic, above the health goal. No health-based violations on file since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2009 to 2026.

Arsenic, uranium, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5) and nitrate: New Jersey’s yearly averages per water system, as CDC’s Environmental Public Health Tracking Network publishes them, 2020 to 2023, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Chromium (total) and fluoride: EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from March 23, 2012 to Oct. 30, 2018. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.

Above the health goal3

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

1.9ppb

Highest yearly average, 2021

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.9 ppb, in 2021: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. That is the only year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 1.3 ppb, in 2018.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

2.0ppb

90th percentile, 2024 to 2026

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 2.0 ppb, below EPA’s action level of 15 ppb. The action level drops to 10 ppb on Nov. 1, 2027. EPA’s health goal for lead is zero.

What handles it

Uranium

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

3.3ppb

Highest yearly average, 2021

Averaged by year, the highest was 3.3 ppb, in 2021: below EPA’s legal limit of 30 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. That is the only year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 2.0 ppb, in 2015.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits2

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

5.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023

2023 average: 3.5 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 5.8 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2023, the latest year on file, it averaged 3.5 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 4.1 ppb, in 2019.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

2.2ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023

2023: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 2.2 ppb, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2023, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 3.2 ppb, in 2017.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

3 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Chromium (total)
  • Fluoride
  • Nitrate

What handles it

A certification covers specific claims, not a whole standard. Look for these claims on the certifier’s listing, not the box. Wording varies a little: NSF writes “Lead Reduction,” WQA just “Lead.”

  • NSF/ANSI 53

    Claims: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: Arsenic, Lead

    Other certifiers’ wording: Arsenic (III) (50 ppb influent level)

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction, Lead Reduction, Uranium

    For: Arsenic, Lead, Uranium

    Other certifiers’ wording: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=300 ppb Reduction; Arsenic (V) (300 ppb influent level)

At the tap, or for the whole house?

Lead and copper usually come from pipes and fixtures inside or near your home. A whole-house system sits where water enters, so it cannot catch what your own plumbing adds after it. For those, the filter that counts is the one at the tap. How whole-house systems compare.

Filters with those claims on a certifier’s listing

Disclosure: TapBuff earns a commission if you buy through some links on this page. It does not change which standard or filter we name. As an Amazon Associate, TapBuff earns from qualifying purchases. How TapBuff makes money

Compare five-year costs

The best reverse osmosis systems, ranked

The best water filters for lead, ranked

Violations since 2016

No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016. There are 23 monitoring or reporting violations: a sample missed, late or not reported.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Arsenic, uranium, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5) and nitrate results here are New Jersey’s yearly averages as CDC publishes them, from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Chromium (total) and fluoride come from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Montague Water Co.’s own annual report, which it must send you every year, has newer results for those and the contaminants this page does not show.

  • Your own plumbing. Lead results are the 90th percentile across homes the utility samples. Your home’s service line, solder and fixtures decide yours. A certified lab test is the only way to know.

  • What it means for your health. This page reports what the records show and EPA’s limits and goals; it is not medical advice. If you are worried about a health effect, talk to a doctor or your local health department.

  • Anything after the latest data. SDWIS data is from 2026 Q3; UCMR 5 didn’t sample this utility; CDC’s yearly averages for New Jersey cover 2020 to 2023; EPA’s compliance samples are from March 23, 2012 to Oct. 30, 2018.

Testing your own tap

Montague Water Co.’s results are for the water it sends out. What your own service line, solder and fixtures add shows up only in a test of your tap, by a lab New Jersey certifies.

The 3 labs New Jersey certifies closest to the area Montague Water Co. serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Well Qualified LLC

    Lafayette, NJ · about 12 miles

    (973) 362-1306

  • Advanced Water Technology LLC

    Sparta, NJ · about 17 miles

    (800) 440-8265

  • Environmental Laboratory Services, LLC

    Ringwood, NJ · about 27 miles

    (973) 728-8044

All 89 certified labs for New Jersey

Sources

PWSID NJ1914002. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Sussex County

All New Jersey utilities

What to do next