RIDGEWOOD VILLAGE LEAD SERVICE LINE REPLACEMENT

Ridgewood Water recently closed on a $17.9 million loan with the NJ Water Bank to comply with New Jersey's Lead Service Line Replacement Law. The project will replace both portions of lead service lines: the public side, owned by Ridgewood Water from the water main to the curb, and the private side, owned by property owners from the curb to the building.

Ridgewood Water has identified more than 3,000 service lines that are wholly or partially lead, meeting the law's definition of a lead service line. Because lead can leach into drinking water, especially as pipes age or corrode, exposure poses serious public health risks, particularly to children and pregnant women. Even low levels of lead can affect brain development, learning, and overall health, which is why full removal of lead service lines is critical.

This multi-year effort is already underway. Ridgewood Water has begun replacing public-side service lines. The proposed project advances the work by prioritizing the remaining full and mixed-material lead service lines and initiating their replacement, moving the system closer to complete lead elimination and safer drinking water for the community.