New Jersey was the first state in the country to put enforceable limits on PFAS — and 63% of its water systems tested positive in the state's 2019–2021 survey. Here's what forever chemicals are, what they're linked to, whether they're in Monmouth County water, and which filters actually do something about them.
New Jersey was the first state to set enforceable PFAS limits — and 63% of NJ community water systems tested positive for at least one forever chemical in the state's 2019–2021 survey. NJ's PFOA limit is 14 parts per trillion; the EPA's 2024 limit is 4 ppt, and utilities have until 2029, possibly 2031, to get there. A 2025 national study tied PFAS in drinking water to thousands of cancer cases a year, and PFAS absorbs through skin — so it's the shower, not just the glass. Pitcher filters mostly don't touch it. The EPA names activated carbon, ion exchange, and reverse osmosis as the media that do — which is why we pair Halo's carbon stages with a PFAS-certified kitchen RO.
PFAS stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. It's a family of man-made chemicals that have been in use since the 1950s in non-stick pans, waterproof gear, firefighting foam, and grease-proof food packaging. Anything that needed to shed water, oil, or heat probably got a dose of PFAS somewhere in the manufacturing.
They're called “forever chemicals” because they don't break down naturally. Whatever went into the ground at a chemical plant, a firefighting-foam site, or a landfill decades ago is still there — and it moves. It leaches into groundwater, runs into rivers and reservoirs, and ends up at your tap. Then it builds up: in water, in soil, and in people. It accumulates in the body over time, which is why a small daily dose matters.
Here's why this hits harder in New Jersey than almost anywhere else. NJ has a long industrial history, and PFAS went into the ground here for decades. The state's regulators have been among the most aggressive in the country in going after it. That's good news (it's being measured and enforced) and a reality check (they wouldn't be that aggressive if it weren't here).
The rest of this page covers what the numbers say for New Jersey and Monmouth County, what PFAS exposure has been linked to, and whether a filter does anything about it. Short version: some do, most don't, and the difference is the media inside the tank.
Sources: EPA — PFAS Explained; HealthyChildren.org (AAP) — Limiting Children's Exposure to Forever Chemicals.
New Jersey was the first state in the country to set enforceable PFAS drinking-water limits. NJDEP set PFNA at 13 parts per trillion (ppt) in 2018, then PFOA at 14 ppt and PFOS at 13 ppt in 2020. Those limits are measured in parts per trillion, not parts per million. That tells you how little of this stuff it takes to be considered a problem.
Then the federal government went further. The EPA's 2024 PFAS rule set the national limit for PFOA and PFOS at 4 ppt — 3.5 times stricter than New Jersey's. Water providers have until 2029 to comply — and the EPA has since proposed (announced May 2025, formally proposed May 2026) letting systems ask for two more years, to 2031. Read that again: a utility can be fully compliant with NJ's rules today and still be serving water above the new federal limit, legally, for years.
In the 2019–2021 testing period, 63% of all NJ community water systems tested positive for at least one PFAS compound — systems serving 84% of the state's population. PFOA specifically turned up in 364 NJ water systems (65% statewide) at levels above the Environmental Working Group's health guideline. EWG's database counts more than 500 NJ water systems and groundwater sources with detected PFAS and estimates 7.5 million New Jersey residents are drinking water contaminated with forever chemicals.
In October 2021, Middlesex Water Company notified about 29,000 customers in six towns — South Plainfield, Edison, Metuchen, Woodbridge, Clark, and Rahway — that PFOA from its Park Avenue plant had hit 36.1 ppt, more than twice NJ's 14 ppt limit. Woodbridge is about 15 miles up the road from Keyport. Those customers had been drinking that water before the notice went out, which is how it usually goes: the letter comes after the fact.
The manufacturers have paid for it. In May 2025 the NJ Attorney General announced the largest statewide PFAS settlement in state history with 3M, covering contamination from the Chambers Works and Parlin sites plus firefighting foam. In August 2025 the state announced a proposed settlement with DuPont, Chemours, and Corteva — described by the Attorney General as the largest environmental settlement ever reached by a single state, covering four industrial sites. Those settlements pay for cleanup and monitoring. They don't put a filter on your house.
Sources: NJDEP — PFAS Standards and Regulations; EPA — PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation; EWG — Forever Chemicals in Over 500 NJ Water Systems; EWG Tap Water Database — New Jersey; NJ Spotlight News — Middlesex Water PFOA Exceedance; NJ Attorney General — 3M Settlement; New Jersey Monitor — DuPont Settlement.
Don't panic — but don't ignore it either. The concern with PFAS is long-term, cumulative exposure, not a single glass of water. The problem is the same low dose every day, for years, in the water you drink, cook with, and bathe your kids in. Here's what the research actually says, in the words the researchers used.
A January 2025 study in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology — the first comprehensive national study linking PFAS in drinking water to cancer — estimated that between 4,626 and 6,864 cancer cases per year in the U.S. are attributable to PFAS in drinking water; using the most recent EPA monitoring data, the estimate is 6,864. PFAS exposure was linked to cancers of the urinary system, brain, leukemia, and soft tissue in males, and to endocrine, oral cavity, and soft-tissue cancers in females.
The American Academy of Pediatrics now publishes guidance for parents on limiting kids' exposure. Its position: studies show a possible link between PFAS exposure and higher cholesterol, decreased immune response, thyroid changes, effects on the liver, and certain cancers — and if your community's water is affected, use a water filter that is certified to remove PFAS and keep it maintained. When the pediatricians' own association is telling parents to filter, this is not a fringe position anymore.
Across the broader research, higher PFAS exposure has been associated with effects on cholesterol, immune response, and certain cancers — which is exactly why the limits keep tightening at both the state and federal level.
This is the one that changes the filtration conversation. Of 17 PFAS compounds tested in a dermal absorption study, 15 showed substantial absorption through skin. For PFOA, 13.5% went into the bloodstream through skin contact alone, with another 38% retained in the skin for potential longer-term uptake. So bathing, showering, and skin contact are exposure routes — not just the glass. A filter under the kitchen sink does nothing about the bathtub your toddler sits in every night. For the local history on why NJ parents take this seriously, see our page on the cancer clusters near Keyport.
Sources: NIEHS — PFAS in Drinking Water and Cancer Incidence (2025); HealthyChildren.org (AAP) — Limiting Children's Exposure to Forever Chemicals; EWG — PFAS Exposure Through Skin.
Straight answer: PFAS has been detected at low levels in public water systems across New Jersey, including parts of Monmouth County. Here's how the local picture breaks down.
Most of Monmouth County — Hazlet, Middletown, Holmdel, Union Beach, Matawan, Aberdeen, Red Bank, Long Branch, and dozens more towns — is on NJ American Water's Coastal North System (PWS ID NJ1345001). It draws from the Swimming River reservoir in Colts Neck, and the results are published every year in the system's water quality report. The 2025 report shows PFOA detected at up to 8.7 parts per trillion and PFOS at up to 2.6 ppt — under New Jersey's 14 ppt limit, above the EPA's 4 ppt.
Two things worth knowing. First, NJ American Water has already had to install PFAS treatment at several facilities elsewhere in the state — Short Hills, Green Brook, Charles Street, and Springfield — which confirms PFAS was detected there at levels that required active treatment. Second, the company's position is that it meets all current NJDEP rules but must comply with the EPA's 4 ppt standard by 2029, possibly 2031. NJAW told the Two River Times in April 2024 that all three of its treatment plants, including Swimming River in Colts Neck, were running pilot plants for PFAS removal to work out what added treatment the 4 ppt rule will require. In plain English: compliant under the old number, working toward the new one.
Keyport Borough has its own water department (PWS ID NJ1322001) with its own annual water quality report. If you live in the borough, your numbers come from a different report than your neighbors in Hazlet or Union Beach — one more reason a test at your own tap beats a system-wide average.
If you're in the rural parts of the county — Marlboro, Holmdel, Colts Neck, Howell — there's a decent chance you're on a well. Roughly 1.1 million NJ residents are. Since December 2021, more than 20,000 private wells have been tested under the NJ Private Well Testing Act, and about 11% exceeded the state's PFAS standard. Well water gets no treatment plant at all; whatever is in the aquifer is in your house.
A Rutgers study published in April 2026 found that NJ's limits are working: PFOA levels fell 55% after the state limit was adopted, PFNA fell 50%, and the share of samples exceeding the PFOA limit dropped from 49% to 15%. That's real progress. It also means 15% of samples still exceed the limit — and that's measured against NJ's 14 ppt, not the EPA's 4 ppt. Your utility's report gives you a system-wide average. It can't tell you what's coming out of your tap. Only a test can.
Sources: NJ American Water — 2025 Coastal North System Water Quality Report; Two River Times — Federal Officials Crack Down on Forever Chemicals; NJ 101.5 — Forever Chemicals in NJ Wells; Rutgers — How NJ's PFAS Limits Brought Levels Down.
Some do. Most don't. The difference is the media inside and how long the water is in contact with it. The EPA lists three technologies that are effective at reducing PFAS in drinking water: activated carbon, ion exchange resins, and high-pressure membranes like reverse osmosis. If the filter you're looking at doesn't use one of those — and doesn't say so on the label — assume it's not doing much for PFAS.
Cheap pitcher filters mostly fall into that category. They're convenient, but most aren't certified for meaningful PFAS reduction — check for a PFAS-specific certification before you trust one. Fridge and faucet filters are the same story: short contact time, a small carbon block, and results that vary by model.
Here's how the options stack up for PFAS specifically. Because PFAS absorbs through skin, whole-home (point-of-entry) filtration is the only option that addresses bathing, not just drinking. An under-sink unit is a focused, lower-cost option that protects the one tap you drink and cook from — and nothing else.
| Filter Type | PFAS Reduction | What It Covers | The Catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard pitcher (GAC) | Limited — most not certified | One pitcher | Check for a PFAS-specific certification |
| Fridge / faucet filter | Varies by model | One tap | Short contact time; frequent cartridge swaps |
| Under-sink carbon (PFAS-certified) | Good | One tap | Nothing for showers, baths, or laundry |
| Under-sink reverse osmosis | Strong | One tap | Slow flow; drinking and cooking only |
| Halo 5 Whole-Home (FIXALL spec) | Partial (carbon stages; not PFAS-certified) | Whole house, including showers | Carbon reduces, it does not eliminate — pair with a kitchen RO for drinking water |
| Halo 5 + Kitchen RO | Partial whole-home reduction plus certified RO at the glass | Whole house, strongest at the kitchen | Two systems to maintain; RO is slower at the sink and needs a drain connection |
One honest note you won't hear from the guy selling boxes at the hardware store: no filter eliminates 100% of every PFAS variant. Anyone who tells you their system does is lying to you. What a properly sized system with the right media does is meaningfully cut your family's exposure at every tap versus doing nothing — and with a cumulative contaminant, cutting the daily dose is the whole game.
Sources: EPA — Reducing PFAS in Drinking Water with Treatment Technologies; EWG — PFAS Exposure Through Skin.
For a Monmouth County household, there are three serious options:
Covers the kitchen tap: drinking water, coffee, cooking, baby formula. A solid first step if you rent or the budget is tight. It does nothing for the shower, the tub, or the rest of the house.
This is the Halo 5 whole-home system, installed at the main water line where the pipe enters the house. Every drop that goes to every tap, shower, tub, washing machine, and fridge line passes through it. Halo's carbon stages partially reduce PFAS (Halo does not certify the Halo 5 as a PFAS-removal system, and we won't pretend it does). Its job here is chlorine, chloramine, hardness, and the skin-contact water at every shower and tub — it's the only option that puts carbon-filtered water at the bathtub, which matters because PFAS absorbs through skin. For the water you actually drink, we pair it with a PFAS-certified under-sink RO (Option 3). FIXALL is a registered Halo dealer; we size the system to your home's actual water chemistry, static pressure, and household, not a one-size box off a shelf.
Whole-home filtration for showers, skin, and laundry, plus a dedicated reverse-osmosis unit at the kitchen sink for the water you actually swallow. That stacks two of the media the EPA names for PFAS — Halo's activated carbon and a PFAS-certified high-pressure membrane — so the glass gets the strongest, certified treatment in the house. This is what FIXALL installs for families with a pregnancy, young kids, or any cancer history.
Our free in-home water test is a walk-through, not a lab. PFAS at parts-per-trillion levels can only be measured by a certified lab, and we won't pretend a kit on the truck does it. What we do is pull up your utility's numbers in EWG's Tap Water Database for your address, go through what's been detected and at what levels, and show you exactly what it would take to cut what's coming out of every tap. If the honest answer is “you don't need this,” that's the answer you'll get.
FIXALL is a registered Halo dealer and a licensed master plumbing company (NJ Master Plumber Lic. #12125), based in Keyport with 330+ Google reviews at a 4.9 rating. Every installation is custom-sized to the home — no warehouse-box, one-size guesswork.
FIXALL is based in Keyport, serving all of Monmouth County on NJ American Water's Coastal North System. Request a free in-home water test. We pull up your utility's published numbers in EWG's Tap Water Database, walk you through what's been detected at your address, and show you exactly what it will take to cut what's coming out of every tap. No obligation.
FIXALL is based in Keyport, serving all of Monmouth County. Get your free in-home water test — no obligation, no pressure, just straight answers.