Boil Water Advisory Remains in Effect (Lifted As of 7/29/26 2:39 PM)

At this time, the Boil Water Advisory remains in effect. (Lifted As of 7/29/26 2:39 PM)

Hackettstown MUA (HMUA) Well No. 4 is used on an as-needed basis during high demand periods.  During the month of July, Well No. 4 ran a total of 66 minutes providing a total of 14,452 gallons. Prior to this, the last time Well #4 was actively in service was May 5, 2026.

On Tuesday July 21, 2026 Well No. 4, located on Seber Road in Hackettstown, was activated for 44 minutes and delivered 9,600 gallons in order to run a quarterly routine raw water sample for PFAS.  Well No. 4 was turned off after this sampling.

On Thursday July 23, 2026 our water system conducted its routine sampling for total coliform within our distribution system.  Results from a location in the distribution system located at 26 Elmwood in the Diamond Hills area of our water system, showed a positive result for Total Coliform, absent of E. Coli.  This positive Total Coliform result triggered a requirement to sample at 5 locations upstream and 5 locations downstream of the location that tested positive for Total Coliform, as well as all testing of the raw untreated water from all wells that ran within 10 days of the sampling event.

Since Well No. 4 was active within the 10-day period of the sampling event, on Saturday July 25 Well 4 was run for 22 minutes and delivered 4,852 gallons in order to take a sample of raw untreated water.  This 4,852 gallons was subsequently treated, disinfected with Chlorine and discharged into the distribution system.  Well No. 4 was turned off after the sample was taken. On Monday July 27^th we received the results that the repeat raw untreated water sample taken at Well No. 4 July 25^th tested positive for Total Coliform and EColi.

Once these results were received, the NJDEP was informed and provided us a Public Notification – Boil Water Advisory to issue.  Well No. 4 was isolated from the system using valves so that it would be discharged to waste, not the distribution system if additional sampling is required.  The NJDEP required us to take 5 confirmation samples of the raw untreated well water to verify if Well No. 4 contained E.Coli.  These five samples were taken on July 27^th.  Results were received on July 28^th and four of the five samples were found to be positive for E.Coli — the water used for this testing did not enter the distribution system.  The NJDEP was informed of the positive E.Coli result and the Boil Water Advisory was not lifted.  An updated Public Notification is posted below.  On July 28^th the HMUA took 6 samples from throughout the distribution system to verify that the HMUA disinfection killed any E.Coli that may have been discharged into the system.  The HMUA fully disconnected the discharge piping for Well No. 4, so no connection with the distribution system is possible.

Please note that total coliform and E.Coli sampling requires an incubation period of 18-24 hours, so test results are typically available in 24-48 hours.

At this time, the Boil Water Advisory remains in effect. (Lifted As of 7/29/26 2:39 PM)