The Branchburg company has been cited for spills that affected NJ water

On December 26, 2024By Littum

BRANCHBURG – The state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has cited the township company whose chemical leak led to taste and odor changes in drinking water in New Jersey American Water’s Raritan Division.

On Monday, the DEP issued M&U International, headquartered in Shanghai, China, on Readington Road a violation for an unauthorized discharge, a violation of the Water Pollution Control Act.

According to the DEP, the Somerset County Office of Emergency Management responded to an odor complaint from a nearby resident to the area and conducted initial cleanup of a spill at M&U International on the night of December 16.

M&U International, at the corner of Readington Road and Columbia Road, is a facility that repackages fragrances, essential oils and flavors.

The facility is upstream of the North Branch of the Raritan River, which flows into the Main Branch of the Raritan River where it meets the South Branch of the Raritan River near Old York Road at the Bridgewater border. New Jersey American then pumps its water from the Raritan River about five miles downstream west of Commerce Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater.

The DEP has identified the substances in the leak as compounds, particularly alpha-pinene, which can be detected by smell at extremely low levels at parts per million. trillion (ppt).

Due to the scented nature of the substance, it can be smelled in small concentrations measured in ppt, according to the tool. For context, 1 ppt is equivalent to 4 drops of liquid in the amount of water that would fill Rutgers University’s SHI Stadium.

Although the detection levels of the substance are infinitesimal, utility customers may continue to notice the taste and odor over the next few days.

The compounds are commonly used as fragrance and food additives. Although the odor may be unpleasant, water quality testing has shown that no risk to public health has been identified, according to the DEP.

The data continues to show that the utility’s water samples meet primary state and federal drinking water standards, the DEP says.

New Jersey American Water began receiving customer complaints about changes in taste and odor in the water late on the evening of December 17th.

The company began investigating and conducted sampling and testing from the source water, various points in its water treatment plant and locations throughout the distribution system.

New Jersey American Water adjusted its treatment processes and began flushing hydrants across the system.

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