Upper Township, NJ tap water quality

The 2025 report from the utility that serves Upper Township doesn't include PFAS results.

Upper Township, in Cape May County, has about 12,355 residents. About 93% of them live inside the service area of New Jersey American Water's Ocean City system, according to New Jersey DEP's service area map.

Hardness and lead in Upper Township's water

Hardness

76 mg/L4.4 grains per gallon, moderately hardThe report lists 76 mg/L as the highest result but a range of 76 to 100 mg/L for the same sample year (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

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

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

Filtering Upper Township'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 Upper Township's water come from?

The Ocean City system's 2025 report lists its own sources as 8 wells (groundwater), disinfected with chlorine.

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

Local factors in Upper Township

Age of homes

45% (margin of error ±6 percentage points) of homes in Upper Township were built before 1980 (Cape May County: 49%, 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 985 service lines (the pipes from the water main to each building) in Upper Township on October 31, 2026. 1 of them (under 1%) have lead on the utility's side, the property owner's side or both (0 only on the utility's side, 1 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 19, 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 Upper Township 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, 8% of the 154 homes tested in Upper Township 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 13 sites in Upper Township 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), 28% (margin of error ±5 percentage points) of occupied homes in Upper Township 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, about 14% (margin of error ±8 percentage points) report $1,000 or more for the year (30% in Cape May 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 Upper Township: 08223, 08230 (shared with Dennis), 08248, 08270 (shared with Dennis, Estell Manor, Woodbine). Source: U.S. Census Bureau 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.