Carneys Point, NJ tap water quality

The 2025 report from the utility that serves Carneys Point doesn't include PFAS results.

Carneys Point, in Salem County, has about 8,766 residents. About 92% of them live inside the service area of New Jersey American Water's Penns Grove system, according to New Jersey DEP's service area map.

Hardness and lead in Carneys Point's water

Hardness

115 mg/L6.7 grains per gallon, moderately hardThe utility's report lists an average of 115 mg/L at the treatment plant (2023).New Jersey's recommended upper limit 250 mg/L (for taste and appearance; not enforceable); no federal limit.

Lead, 90th percentile of home taps

1 ppbAction level: 15 ppb, dropping to 10 ppb in November 2027

6.7 grains per gallon in Carneys Point's report: size a water softener for Carneys Point. The statewide hardness table lists the other water systems on this site.

Filtering Carneys Point's tap water at home

The utility's report doesn't include PFAS results, so we can't match a PFAS filter to this water. If you're concerned about lead from your home's pipes, look for a filter certified to NSF/ANSI Standard 53 for lead.

Where does Carneys Point's water come from?

The Penns Grove system's 2025 report lists its own sources as 6 wells drawing from the Potomac-Raritan-Magothy (PRM) Aquifer.

New Jersey American Water runs the Penns Grove system. For billing, starting or stopping service, or account questions, go to New Jersey American Water's customer service page.

Local factors in Carneys Point

Age of homes

79% (margin of error ±9 percentage points) of homes in Carneys Point were built before 1980 (Salem County: 75%, New Jersey: 63%; U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024). The utility's water quality report describes water leaving the system, not the plumbing inside a home; why the build year matters for lead.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, table B25034 (Year Structure Built).

Lead service lines

New Jersey American Water's service line map, where you can look up your own address, lists 2,627 service lines (the pipes from the water main to each building) in Carneys Point on October 31, 2026. 50 of them (2%) have lead on the utility's side, the property owner's side or both (2 only on the utility's side, 48 only on the owner's side), and New Jersey's 2021 lead service line law requires the utility to replace them, including the part on private property. For 544, the material on at least one side hasn't been identified yet (how we count service lines; all towns compared).

Source: New Jersey American Water, service line material map, lines counted inside the town boundary on October 31, 2026; New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, 2022 order quoting the 2021 lead service line law (N.J.S.A. 58:12A-40).

Radon

NJDEP places Carneys Point in Radon Tier 3 (low potential: under 5 percent of tested homes at or above 4 picocuries per liter) based on indoor radon tests (2015). In that report, 2% of the 104 homes tested in Carneys Point were at or above 4 picocuries per liter. NJDEP recommends testing every home regardless of tier. Homes on private wells can also get radon from well water. How radon tiers work.

Source: New Jersey DEP Radon Section, 2015 Radon Tier Assignment Report; the same figures appear in NJDEP's current municipal tier list.

Known contaminated sites

NJDEP lists 21 sites in Carneys Point where soil or groundwater contamination has been confirmed (October 14, 2026). These are places under cleanup oversight; they do not mean that tap water from the public system is contaminated. The public water system is tested and treated separately; people with private wells near a listed site can ask the county health department about testing.

Source: New Jersey DEP, Known Contaminated Sites List map layer, retrieved October 16, 2026, with site-by-site lists in NJDEP's Known Contaminated Sites reports.

Water and sewer bills

In the Census Bureau's survey (ACS 2020-2024, about this question), 64% (margin of error ±4 percentage points) of occupied homes in Carneys Point pay a separate charge for water and sewer; the rest report no charge or a charge included in other fees, such as rent. Among the homes that pay, 40% (margin of error ±8 percentage points) report $1,000 or more for the year (35% in Salem County, 30% statewide), as households report it rather than as the utility bills it.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates, table B25134 (Annual Water and Sewer Costs).

ZIP codes covering Carneys Point: 08023 (shared with Pennsville), 08069 (shared with Penns Grove). Source: U.S. Census Bureau 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.