PFAS and Water Filtration in Piscataway, NJ

Confirm your supplier first

New Jersey American Water lists Piscataway Township "in part" in its Middlesex County territory, which means a good share of the township is on its Raritan System but not necessarily every address. Your bill is the quickest answer. If it comes from NJ American Water, the Raritan System annual report applies to you. If it comes from someone else, or there is no bill and a pressure tank sits in the basement, the numbers below are not your numbers.

What the Raritan System is made of

In 2025 the Raritan System drew on 98 wells, 7 surface water intakes and 1 purchased surface source. About 92% of its water was surface water from the Millstone River, the Raritan River and the Delaware and Raritan Canal. The utility disinfects groundwater with chlorine and treats surface water with chloramines.

That last detail shapes filter choices in Piscataway. Chloramine, a blend of chlorine and ammonia, lasts longer in the pipes than chlorine and is noticeably harder for ordinary activated carbon to remove. Removing it for taste or shower comfort generally takes catalytic carbon in a properly sized tank, not a slim cartridge. Our whole-house filtration page covers sizing.

Reading the PFAS line in the 2025 report

The Raritan report lists PFOA with a highest compliance result of 7 ppt and a range from non-detect up to 7. PFOS came in at 6 ppt, ranging from non-detect up to 6. New Jersey's limits are 14 ppt for PFOA and 13 ppt for PFOS, so the system met the state standard.

The federal picture is stricter. EPA set national limits of 4.0 ppt for each compound in April 2024, with water systems expected to comply by April 26, 2029. In May 2026, EPA proposed a rule that would let eligible systems seek an extension to 2031; that proposal is not final.

Some households are comfortable with that. Others, especially with an infant or a pregnancy in the home, prefer to bring PFAS down now, and both are reasonable.

Filtration options for PFAS on Raritan water

Three approaches come up most often, and the right one depends on whether you care about drinking water only or every tap in the house:

• Under-sink reverse osmosis. Treats the water you drink and cook with. Look for NSF/ANSI 58 certification that specifically lists PFOA and PFOS reduction. See our reverse osmosis page.
• Point-of-use carbon block. Smaller and cheaper; it needs NSF/ANSI 53 certification for PFOA/PFOS and on-time cartridge changes.
• Whole-house granular activated carbon. Covers showers and laundry too. It needs to be sized for your flow, and the media eventually gets replaced; ask how the provider decides when.

Sodium, and why it changes the softener conversation

The 2025 report puts sodium between 32 and 99 ppm, against a recommended upper limit of 50 ppm. Anyone on a sodium-restricted diet should weigh that before adding a salt-based softener, which raises it further. Potassium chloride in the brine tank, or a reverse osmosis tap for drinking water, are the usual workarounds. Our softener page goes into more detail.

Main work on Winans Avenue

NJ American Water announced in March 2026 a $2 million project to replace about 3,000 feet of 1960s water main on Winans Avenue, from Stelton Road to the end of the street, during spring 2026, renewing 41 service lines along the way. Brief discoloration or air in the lines is common near any main work. Running the cold taps usually clears it.

Piscataway homes on private wells

Not every Piscataway property is on a main. State health data shows 14.3% of wells tested under the Private Well Testing Act between 2002 and 2018 exceeded at least one primary standard, close to the statewide 14.5%. The required panel has included PFNA, PFOA and PFOS since December 2021. Our well water treatment page covers what follows.

Setting up a consultation in Piscataway

Tell us your ZIP, whether you are on NJ American Water or a well, and what you want to fix. An independent local provider contacts you to talk through the numbers above and how much of the house you want treated. Any equipment you choose must be installed by a licensed New Jersey plumber, because installing filtration is plumbing work under state rules. Any lab fee for testing your own tap is quoted up front.