CHATHAM, NJ — Despite the age of Chatham Borough's water system, a representative leading the new water infrastructure program assured residents that the borough's water quality is among the best in the state.

The plan, announced last week by Chatham's Department of Public Works, calls for an initial inventory of all water lines serving homes as part of an effort to meet new stringent water service line requirements.

On Monday night, Patrick K. Cole, who is leading Chatham Borough's "infrastructure stewardship program" spoke before the council explaining the process and clarifying the need for the program.

Cole, vice president at H2M Architects and Engineers, is assisting the borough with the program, which will identify and replace all lead and galvanized water lines connected to homes in order to comply with the "Service Line Replacement Act."

"The reason why it is of significance to Chatham is that many of the historically constructed public water systems in New Jersey and throughout the country were constructed with lead or with lead solder as part of their baseline composition materials. The big constraint for the borough is the age of your system. You maintain a system that's decades, in some small pockets nearing 100 years old," Cole said.

Due to the age of the water system, Cole argues that there is a higher chance that lead materials would still be found and could potentially impact the water quality if not addressed.

Currently, the borough has no reason to be concerned both Cole and Chatham Borough’s DPW director Tony Torello said.

"The silver lining is that with regard to lead and its sister construction material, copper, the borough has just been doing an exemplary job for the decades that it's now been regulated by the federal government. Your water quality and compliance record, with regard to that family of contaminates, is, in my professional experience, one of the best in the state," Cole said.

In the coming days, the borough will send out a letter to explain the process, which will begin with an inventory of all water lines in the borough to determine whether or not they need to be replaced.

Lead exposure, which can come from sources such as drinking water, can cause serious health problems. Due to previous high lead exposure or exposure while pregnant, lead can pass from a pregnant woman to her developing fetus. A mother's chances of miscarriage increase if she is exposed to lead during her pregnancy.

Adults who have been exposed to lead may experience problems with their hearts, kidneys, blood pressure, hypertension and reproduction.

During the council discussion portion of the presentation, council member Carolyn Dempsey inquired about the cost of replacing lead or galvanized water lines.

"It typically costs in the range of several thousand dollars per service to replace. The range of construction costs that we've seen most recently... mid-point is probably in the rang of $5,000-$6,000," Cole said in response.

Those costs would most likely be split between the borough and the homeowner, Cole clarified. "For the sake of continuity... The intent behind it would be that the borough would finance the construction costs on the homeowner's side of the work and then apportion those costs in either the monthly or quarterly water sewer billing."

According to Cole, the team at H2M Architects and Engineers estimates that approximately 50 to 60 percent of all homes in the borough are being affected by lead pipes.

"That's considerably higher than I had imagined," Mayor Thaddeus Kobylarz said.

Residents can contact the DPW to help them determine whether or not their water line needs to be replaced. The borough has included a link to the NJDEP's Clean Water Website, which can be found here.

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