The amount of lead in Newark, New Jersey’s drinking water is a threat to the city’s residents—and city and state officials have failed to take action to address the problem, as required under the Safe Drinking Water Act. This is why NRDC and the Newark Education Workers Caucus (NEW Caucus) announced their intent to sue the city, as well as city and state officials. Here, we offer some recommendations for Newark residents to protect themselves from dangerous lead levels in their water as we push the local government to take action.
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Fighting for Safe Drinking Water in Newark
OverviewUnited States, Newark, New Jersey
While Newark has made progress to address dangerous lead, the problem continues nationwide, with millions of lead pipes still delivering water to people’s homes.
What Can We Do to Fix the Drinking Water Problem in America?
ExplainerUnited States, Flint, Newark, Michigan, New Jersey
Seth Siegel, author of the new book “Troubled Water: What’s Wrong with What We Drink,” says we must change people’s mind-sets and get to the root of the issue to ensure safe drinking water for everyone.
Lead Pipes Are Widespread and Used in Every State
SurveyUnited States, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Missouri, Wisconsin, Indiana, Texas, MinnesotaErik D. Olson, Alexandra Stubblefield
An NRDC survey estimates that there are at least 12.8 million water pipes that are, or may be, lead, spread across the entire country. Use our map to find out about your state.