Union Water Hardness & Quality Report (2026)

Union Township, New Jersey, in Union County adjacent to Newark and Elizabeth — a densely populated inner suburban township with a substantial immigrant community (Brazilian-American, Portuguese-American) and a major retail corridor — draws its municipal water supply from the Passaic River and Wanaque Reservoir via New Jersey American Water Essex–Union district, distributing through the inner Union County water system. Water hardness in Union measures 174 mg/L — classified as hard.

Union's hard supply reflects the inner Union County distribution infrastructure in the Newark metropolitan suburban core. The New Jersey American Water Essex–Union district serves the dense Newark southwest suburban corridor (Union, Hillside, Elizabeth area) through infrastructure of the 1900s–1930s inner suburban build-out period. Union Township grew rapidly as a Newark suburb in the early 20th century, and the distribution mains in Union's residential neighborhoods include cast-iron infrastructure from this era. The aged distribution system accumulates substantial mineral content from the Passaic–Wanaque source (moderately hard at the intake), elevating the tap hardness to the hard 174 mg/L in Union.

At 174 mg/L, Union residents face regular hard water challenges. Scale deposits form on faucet aerators, showerheads, and appliances within weeks — monthly descaling with citric acid solution is standard maintenance. New Jersey American Water consistently delivers water meeting all New Jersey DEP and EPA Safe Drinking Water Act requirements.