Palmyra, NJ tap water quality

Palmyra's PFAS compliance results in 2025 were below both New Jersey and federal limits.

Palmyra, in Burlington County, has about 7,664 residents. Virtually all of them live inside the service area of New Jersey American Water's Western system, according to New Jersey DEP's service area map.

Hardness and lead in Palmyra's water

Hardness

128 mg/L7.5 grains per gallon, hardThe utility's report lists an average of 128 mg/L at the treatment plant (2025).New Jersey's recommended upper limit 250 mg/L (for taste and appearance; not enforceable); no federal limit.

Lead, 90th percentile of home taps

—Not listed in the 2025 report

7.5 grains per gallon in Palmyra's report: size a water softener for Palmyra. Compare it with hardness in other New Jersey water systems.

Filtering Palmyra's tap water at home

The utility's PFAS compliance results were below the federal limits. If you still want a filter, or you're concerned about lead from your home's pipes, look for one certified to NSF/ANSI Standard 53 for the contaminant you care about.

Where does Palmyra's water come from?

The Western system's 2025 report lists its own sources as one surface water intake and 42 active wells (including 5 seasonal wells); Potomac-Raritan-Magothy aquifer system, Delaware River, Mount Laurel-Wenonah aquifer, Englishtown aquifer system.

The Western system is run by New Jersey American Water. Its customer service page covers paying a bill and starting or stopping service.

Local factors in Palmyra

Age of homes

77% (margin of error ±7 percentage points) of homes in Palmyra were built before 1980 (Burlington County: 55%, 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 2,587 service lines (the pipes from the water main to each building) in Palmyra on October 31, 2026. 37 of them (1%) have lead on the utility's side, the property owner's side or both (0 only on the utility's side, 37 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 793, 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 Palmyra in Radon Tier 2 (moderate potential: 5 to 24 percent of tested homes at or above 4 picocuries per liter) based on indoor radon tests (2015). In that report, 5% of the 399 homes tested in Palmyra were at or above 4 picocuries per liter. NJDEP recommends testing every home regardless of tier. 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 11 sites in Palmyra 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.

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), 77% (margin of error ±6 percentage points) of occupied homes in Palmyra 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, 37% (margin of error ±5 percentage points) report $1,000 or more for the year (29% in Burlington 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 code covering Palmyra: 08065. Source: U.S. Census Bureau 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.