As spring arrives, it’s been great to see so many Moorestonians enjoying the warmer weather and spring break. For those celebrating holidays like Easter, Eid al-Fitr, and Passover, I hope you’ve been able to enjoy meaningful time with loved ones.
This month, I want to update you on a water quality issue at our North Church Street Water Treatment Plant. You may have seen posts on social media or received a letter noting that one of our wells tested just above the maximum contaminant level (MCL) determined by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) for 1,2,3-Trichloropropane (TCP).
The township is using multiple forms of communication – mail, digital platforms and this column – to make sure you know what’s going on and how we plan to address this issue moving forward.
To understand the current situation, it’s important to go back to 2013, when Moorestown first discovered TCP in our water supply. TCP is an industrial chemical that can make its way into groundwater through past manufacturing or waste disposal practices. Its detection in our 2013 Water Quality Report was highly publicized and resulted in multi-million-dollar upgrades at the township’s water treatment plants on North Church Street, Kings Highway and Hartford Road.
The North Church Street upgrades, including installation of an advanced oxidation system and carbon filters to remove groundwater carcinogens and other pollutants, were finalized in 2020 and financed through the NJ Water Bank, a program administered by NJDEP and the NJ Infrastructure Bank.
Since 2013, the township has upgraded all three water plants, hired environmental experts to trace the source of the contamination, and pursued legal action against those believed responsible. On March 19, 2025, the NJDEP notified the township that a water sample from its North Church Street Plant exceeded the state’s MCL for TCP. The state’s MCL for TCP is 0.030 µg/L and is based on the running annual average (RAA).
The RAA is determined by averaging all the samples collected for the past 12 months at the plant. The sample collected on Feb. 25 pushed the RAA of TCP at the plant over the last year, to just above 0.031 micrograms per liter, 0.001 over the NJDEP standard of 0.030.
The township has eliminated the source of the TCP by temporarily shutting down the Church Street plant. To be clear: The water currently coming out of Moorestown taps is safe and regularly tested. We are now supplying water from our Hartford Road Treatment Plant and from New Jersey American Water, both of which meet all state water-quality standards and do not contain the contaminant.
Although the Church Street plant is equipped with carbon filters designed to remove TCP, the filters did not last as long as the vendor originally indicated. Typically, these filters have a lifespan of five years. This filter has been in use since September 2020. The actual lifespan of an individual filter depends on a variety of factors (i.e., rate of flow, size of filters, level of TCP in the source water) and can only be fully determined after the first life cycle has been completed.
The Township Council recently authorized the expedited purchase of new activated carbon to replace the existing carbon in the North Church Street plant’s filters and will not bring the plant back online until testing confirms that TCP is being filtered effectively and reliably.
This is the first time the carbon filter systems have required maintenance, and while the MCL exceedance was slight, council members and I want to ensure that the township is transparent about taking the following steps to address this issue:
- Shut down the North Church Street Plant after receiving NJDEP’s notice.
- Transitioned the water supply to unaffected sources.
- Authorized emergency carbon replacement at the plant.
- Developing a more frequent testing plan than NJDEP requirements to ensure this doesn’t happen again.
- Continuing our legal pursuit of those responsible for polluting our aquifer, which we believe is specifically linked to the Cinnaminson landfill Superfund site.
At this time, no action is required by residents. Moorestown’s drinking water is currently sourced from groundwater that meets all New Jersey drinking water standards. Residents will receive a formal notice by mail outlining the situation and our response. A copy of that notice, along with FAQs, is also available on the Township website.
If you have additional questions, please contact Water Superintendent Wayne McEwen at (856) 235-3520 or email watertreatment@moorestown.nj.us. We’re here to answer your questions and to keep you informed.
