New Jersey Residents Set To Receive a Share of $4.9 Million in Drinking Water Settlement
Compensation ranges from $50 to up to $2,500.
Published Nov. 3 2025, 2:47 p.m. ET
The water in New Jersey isn't exactly the cleanest, to say the least, as many residents and visitors can attest. Indeed, poor quality drinking water can have profoundly deleterious effects on the body, as the Flint, MI lawsuit settlement and the years of heartbreaking related news show.
Residents of New Jersey are about to be compensated for enduring poor-quality drinking water, after a lawsuit settlement was reached. How much, you may wonder, are New Jersey locals about to receive?
Why are New Jersey residents being compensated for their poor quality drinking water? Was the situation really that bad? Below, we answer these questions, and more, so you can better understand the living situation that many residents had to endure.
Continue reading below as we dive into the nuances of the lawsuit settlement that is set to pay New Jersey residents money for poor quality drinking water.
New Jersey drinking water settlement details:
According to a report in Newsweek, more than 60,000 residents are set to receive a portion of $4.9 million following PFAS detected in New Jersey drinking water.
"In October 2021, Middlesex Water Company, which supplies 61,000 Americans, notified the New Jersey residents it serves that 'our system recently violated a New Jersey drinking water standard,' and that its PFOA level, one of the many types of PFAS chemicals, was above the state's health limit of 14 parts per trillion (ppt), at 36.1 ppt."
In a statement from the EPA on April 10, 2024, a standard for acceptable forever chemicals in drinking water was set.
As the Environmental Working Group reported in a news release on May 14, 2025, the Trump Administration rolled back limits on the acceptable amount of so-called "forever chemicals” in drinking water, which could have detrimental effects for years to come.
Back to the lawsuit: the Middlesex Water Company was supplying drinking water to New Jersey residents that exceeded the state's maximum limit of PFAS chemicals. One brave New Jersey resident affected by the news filed a lawsuit against the Middlesex Water Company for reimbursement of all associated expenses, such as bottled water (which was recommended by the water company), as well as water filters and related doctors' appointments to discuss the resident's health concerns.
According to the New Jersey Digest, the base payout for the lawsuit is a measly $50 per household without the need to supply any receipts. However, up to $2,500 is allocated for those who kept detailed documentation of related water filter and bottled water purchases, as well as expenses for medical appointments.
"It’s not a jackpot, but it’s cash back for the filters, the jugs, the doctor visits that started the day the utility admitted its water broke state rules," according to the report.
On a related note, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection reported that the department reached a proposed $450 million settlement with The 3M Company to compensate New Jersey residents after it was discovered that 3M manufactured PFAS and supplied them for decades to manufacturing operations throughout New Jersey, which contaminated drinking water supplies and the environment throughout the state.