Federal and New Jersey State Primary
and Secondary Drinking
Water Standards - 1/2002
Inorganics
Contaminants
Maximum Contaminant LevelMCL[µg/l or ppb]
Antimony
6
Arsenic
5#
Asbestos
7x 106 fibers/l > 10µm
Barium
2000
Beryllium
4
Cadmium
5
Chromium
100
Copper
1300**[AL]
Cyanide
200
Fluoride
4000
Lead
15**[AL]
Mercury
2
Nickel
+
Nitrate[as nitrogen]
10,000
Nitrite
1,000
[combined nitrate/nitrite
10,000
Selenium
50
Thallium
2
** An action level [AL] is not an MCL. It is a trigger point at which
remedial action is to take place.
+ No MCL-Monitoring
Required.
#
Effective February 22, 2002
Synthetic
Organic Compounds
Contaminants
MCL [µg/l or ppb]
Alachlor
2
Aldicarb
+
Aldicarb Sulfone
+
Aldicarb Sulfoxide
+
Atrazine
3
Benzo[a]pyrene
0.2
Carbofuran
40
Chlordane
0.5*
Dalapon
200
Dibromochloropropane [DBCP]
0.2
Di[2-ethylhexyl]adipate
400
Di[2-ethylhexyl]phthalate
6
Dinoseb
7
Diquat
20
Endothall
100
Endrin
2
Ethylene dibromide [EDB]
0.05
Glyphosate
700
Heptachlor
0.4
Heptachlor Epoxide
0.2
Hexachlorobenzene
1
Hexachlorocyclopentadiene 50
50
Lindane
0.2
Methoxychlor
40
Oxamyl
200
PCBs
0.5
Pentachlorophenol
1
Picloram
500
Simazine
4
Toxaphene
3
2,3,7,8-TCDD [Dioxin]
3 X 10-5
2,4-D
70
2,4,5-TP [Silvex]
50
*
N.J. MCL [A-280]
+ No MCL-Monitoring Required
Volatile Organic Compounds
Contaminants
MCL [µg/l or ppb]
Benzene
1*
Carbon Tetrachloride
2*
meta-Dichlorobenzene
600*
ortho-Dichlorobenzene
600
para-Dichlorobenzene
75
1,1-Dichloroethane
50*
1,2-Dichloroethane
2*
1,1-Dichloroethylene
2*
cis-1,2-Dichloroethylene
70
trans-1,2-Dichloroethylene
100
1,2-Dichloropropane
5
Ethylbenzene
700
Methyl tertiary Butyl Ether
70*
Methylene Chloride
3*
Monochlorobenzene
50*
Naphthalene
300*
Styrene
100
1,1,2,2-Tetrachloroethane
1*
Tetrachloroethylene
1*
Toluene
1000
1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene
9*
1,1,1-Trichloroethane
30*
1,1,2-Trichloroethane
3*
Trichloroethylene
1*
Vinyl Chloride
2
Xylenes [total]
1000*
*
N.J. MCL [A-280]
Secondary Standards [primarily aesthetic]
Physical Characteristics
Recommended Upper Limit or Optimum Range
Color
10 color units (standard cobalt scale)
pH
6.5 to 8.5 (optimum range)
Odor
3 Threshold odor number
Taste
No objectional taste
Chemical Characteristics
Recommended Upper Limit (mg/l or ppm)
ABS/L.A.S.
0.5
Aluminum
0.2
Chloride
250
Fluoride
2
Hardness (as CaCO3)
250
Iron
0.3
Manganese
0.05
Silver
0.1
Total dissolved solids
500
Zinc
5
Trihalomethanes
80µg/l[ppb] running annual average Total of Dichlorobromomethane,
Chlorodibromomethane, Bromoform and Chloroform
Haloacetic Acids 60µg/l[ppb] running annual average Total
of Monochloroacetic, Dichloroacetic, Trichloroacetic, Bromoacetic and
Dibromoacetic acids
Bromate ( plants using ozone) 10µg/l[ppb] running annual average
Chlorite (plants using chlorine dioxide) 1,000µg/l[ppb] daily/follow
up monitoring
Radionuclides: Combined radum 226/228 MCL is 5 picocuries
/liter (pCi/l); gross alpha particle radioactivity [including radium
226 but excluding radon and uranium] MCL is 15 pCi/l; beta/photon
emitters MCL is 4 mrem/yr; effective December 8, 2003, Uranium
will have an MCL of 30 µg/l
Turbidity No more than 5% of the samples may exceed 0.3 NTU,
nor any sample exceed 1 NTU
Coliform bacteria standards are based on the presence or absence
of coliforms in a sample. The number of samples collected by a public
water system is determined by the size of the population served. A system
collecting at least 40 samples/month can have coliform in no more than
5% of the samples. A system collecting fewer than 40 samples/month can
have no more than one coliform positive. Any number exceeding these
amounts triggers an MCL exceedance.
