Ridgewood Water Hardness & Quality Report (2026)

Ridgewood, New Jersey, in Bergen County, is served by the Village of Ridgewood Water Utility, which operates its own surface water system drawing from local reservoirs in the New Jersey Highlands — specifically impoundments on the Ho-Ho-Kus Brook and Hohokus Creek tributaries in the Ramapo River basin. The village maintains its own treatment plant and distribution system independent of larger regional utilities, providing Ridgewood residents with high-quality, locally managed water. Source reservoirs are fed by rainfall and snowmelt from the Highlands' protected watershed lands.

The very low 38 mg/L hardness in Ridgewood reflects the exceptional geology of the New Jersey Highlands source area. The Highlands here are underlain by Precambrian Losee Gneiss, Byram Intrusive Suite granites, and Franklin Marble — predominantly siliceous igneous and metamorphic rocks with limited carbonate exposure in the immediate reservoir catchment. Glacial scouring during the Pleistocene stripped away much of the overlying soil and fractured the crystalline bedrock, leaving thin, low-mineral runoff that fills the reservoir system with naturally soft, low-TDS water.

At 38 mg/L, Ridgewood's water is very soft — among the softest municipal supplies in New Jersey. Residents benefit from no scale buildup on appliances, excellent soap lathering, and spotless glassware from the dishwasher. Kettles and water heaters remain clean for years of use without descaling. The primary consideration with very soft water is its mildly corrosive chemistry, which can slowly leach trace metals from copper or lead-containing plumbing. Residents in older homes should test for lead and copper periodically and consider a pH-neutralizing filter, especially if the home has pre-1986 plumbing fixtures.