Tell Me About Maplewood's Water

Since it appears South Orange will be getting it's water from Maplewood's supplier starting in January, what do we need to know about the quality?

Is it softer? Can I finally take a sledge hammer to my current fixtures and buy new without fear of scale buildup?

How's the taste? Etc.

I lived in Maplewood from 2003 to 2013. In my experience, the water there is better than South Orange's but not as good as NYC's. The taste is OK. We improved it by installing an inline water filter under the kitchen sink. We did a few blind taste tests, and we could easily identify the filtered water. I think it's a little hard, but we didn't get any crust in our plumbing, so I think you're safe there. I trusted the water to be safe enough to drink, even when it wasn't filtered. If I was not near our filter, I would drink it straight from the tap.

It sucks. get a whole house filtration system.

Water is hard. You will get some build up. Taste is OK.

The water is very hard and for any sensitive equipment like a decent espresso machine, you need a filter or else.

I've lived here 30 years and still hate the taste ... even filtered.

We have lived here 18 years and installed a whole house filter, worth every penny.

We have lived here 18 years and installed a whole house filter, worth every penny.

Grew up in the city where I loved the tap water. But, also spent 10 years in TX (Houston & Austin) where the water water tasted like chalk. Been in M'wood for 9 yrs now and find the water to be decent. We have a filter on our kitchen tap, and a Brita pitcher for our fridge. In a pinch, I'll drink unfiltered straight from the tap - no ill effects.

agbarganza said:

Grew up in the city where I loved the tap water. But, also spent 10 years in TX (Houston & Austin) where the water water tasted like chalk. Been in M'wood for 9 yrs now and find the water to be decent. We have a filter on our kitchen tap, and a Brita pitcher for our fridge. In a pinch, I'll drink unfiltered straight from the tap - no ill effects.

And I grew up in Houston and was fine with the tap water there, go figure. I always thought that I just needed a few years to get used to the water here, but it has never happened.

For whatever it's worth, municipal water is regulated, and most of it is safe. I think South Orange is a rare exception, but I could be wrong. Some people drink bottled water for extra safety, but regulations there are more lax or nonexistent. It may taste better, but that doesn't mean it's safer.

Drinking Mwood water for the past 25 years. No problem. Currently not filtering. Taste seems fine (I find filtered water to be boring/flat compared to tap.) No plumbing issues.

All told it sounds like it'll be a minor upgrade from current. Less hard but still hard. Less bad taste but still bad.

So close to NYC yet so far...

n00b said:

All told it sounds like it'll be a minor upgrade from current. Less hard but still hard. Less bad taste but still bad.




So close to NYC yet so far...

Basically yes, but at least it's safe. That must be worth something.

In most cases, bottled water is just repackaged municipal water. It may go through an extra filtration step. The FDA regulates bottled water and EPA regulates drinking water.

Tom_Reingold said:

For whatever it's worth, municipal water is regulated, and most of it is safe. I think South Orange is a rare exception, but I could be wrong. Some people drink bottled water for extra safety, but regulations there are more lax or nonexistent. It may taste better, but that doesn't mean it's safer.

I stand corrected. Thank you. This appears to be new regulation.

Are there are any states or municipalities that have more stringent regulations than the federal government?

I'm not sure it's true that most bottled water comes from municipal supplies. Many of them claim to be from springs.

Tom_Reingold said:

I stand corrected. Thank you. This appears to be new regulation.

Are there are any states or municipalities that have more stringent regulations than the federal government?

I'm not sure it's true that most bottled water comes from municipal supplies. Many of them claim to be from springs.

I haven't looked up the comparative sales figures, but Dasani and Aquafina are just filtered tap water, and as these are made by Coca-Cola and Pepsi, I imagine they have one of the best distribution deals in the world.

One thing to add- I think Maplewood water doesn't have fluoride added to it, FYI. Never caused any problems for us teeth wise. (I know fluoride can be its own hot button topic)

The best thing we are going to find about NJ American water is that it isn't the EOWC. Their lies and billing shenanigans are reason enough to change.

The split between FDA and EPA has been that way for many years. FDA regulates bottled water as a food.

States can have more stringent regulations that the Feds, but they can't have less stringent regs.

Here is an interesting article about tap water vs bottled. It says that roughly 25% of bottled water is tap water.

https://www.nrdc.org/stories/truth-about-tap

Tom_Reingold said:

I stand corrected. Thank you. This appears to be new regulation.

Are there are any states or municipalities that have more stringent regulations than the federal government?

I'm not sure it's true that most bottled water comes from municipal supplies. Many of them claim to be from springs.

yahooyahoo said:


https://www.nrdc.org/stories/truth-about-tap

Thank you. This reinforces my decision to stick with tap water.

One thing to take into account is bottled water is tap water + trucking + plastic bottles.

There is no evidence that bottled water is any better than tap water in Maplewood except personal preference. My personal preference is not to truck plastic bottles of ordinary water around the country.

If you think Maplewood water is hard, try NYC water. I swear I can't get the soap off of my hands in NYC without prolonged rinsing. I don' t care how it tastes, it just doesn't work like soft water. And so I don't like to drink it due to the extra who knows what included. Not saying that Maplewood water is the greatest, but just better in my opinion.

(Why do some people think that anything NYC is the best?)

Bottled water is supposed to meet the same requirements as city water. But it is not inspected and tested as frequently. Chlorine content will likely be higher and may affect the taste you are used to. A decent water filter pitcher will remove the chlorine and chlorine byproducts. Activated carbon will remove the chlorine and any chlorinated organic compounds. By the way, your old system will have brand new treatment by the end of the year to remove all contamination.

mrmaplewood said:

If you think Maplewood water is hard, try NYC water. I swear I can't get the soap off of my hands in NYC without prolonged rinsing. I don' t care how it tastes, it just doesn't work like soft water. And so I don't like to drink it due to the extra who knows what included. Not saying that Maplewood water is the greatest, but just better in my opinion.

(Why do some people think that anything NYC is the best?)

Not being able to remove the soap is due to the water being soft. Hard water will rinse the soap easier. NYC is reservoir or surface water rather than wells. Therefore, it is soft water. Maplewood water is combination well and surface. South Orange was all well water.