Requires boil water notices to be provided by certain public water systems via telephone, email or text message.

S3332

SENATE, No. 3332

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 5, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� SHIRLEY K. TURNER

District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires boil water notices to be provided by certain
public water systems via telephone, email or text message.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
concerning boil water notices and supplementing the
�Safe Drinking Water Act,� P.L.1977, c.224
(C.58:12A-1 et seq.)
.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� a.� Whenever any public
water system experiences an emergency or other condition that requires the
issuance of a boil water notice, the owner or operator shall provide notice to
its affected customers that a boil water notice is in effect.� The owner or operator
of the public water system shall notify its affected customers of the boil
water notice as soon as possible, but in no case later than 24 hours after the
public water system learns of the emergency or other condition.

���� b.��� (1)� Commencing on the
90th day after the effective date of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending
before the Legislature as this bill), the owner or operator of the public water
system shall notify its customers of a boil water notice via the preferred means
of contact of each customer of the public water system made available to
customers by the owner or operator, in addition to any other notice required by
State or federal law.� If a customer does not return the solicitation provided
for in paragraph (2) of this subsection or otherwise specify a preferred means
of contact, and the public water system has a telephone number on file for the
account, the owner or operator of the public water system shall attempt to
notify the customer of a boil water notice via telephone or other means of
direct contact, at the discretion of the owner or operator.� The public water
system shall also post notice of the boil water notice on any website that the
public water system maintains for the public or its customers.

���� (2)�� Within 60 days after the
effective date of P.L.� , c.�� (C.���� ) (pending before the Legislature as
this bill), the owner or operator of the public water system shall include in
the water bills issued by the system for each customer a solicitation for the
customer's preferred means of contact, from those options made available to
customers by the owner or operator.� If the system issues its water bills less
frequently than every two months, the solicitation shall be included in the
bill next issued following the effective date of
P.L. , c. (C. )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill).� It shall be the responsibility
of the customer to notify the owner or operator of the public water system of a
change in the preferred method of contact provided pursuant to this paragraph.�
A public water system shall have or acquire the capability to notify its
customers of a boil water notice by direct contact, which may include
telephone, electronic mail, or text message.

���� c.���� The notice provided
pursuant to this section shall contain the name of the public water system
affected, the geographical area affected, the date of the occurrence giving
rise to the boil water notice, the consumer corrective measures to be taken,
and a telephone number where customers may reach an appropriate party to
address questions or other concerns about the boil water notice or the
situation necessitating issuance of the notice.

���� d.��� The owner or operator of
the public water system shall be responsible for rescission of the boil water
notice.� Notice of the rescission of a boil water notice shall be provided in
the manner prescribed for notice in paragraph (1) of subsection b. of this
section.

���� e.���� As used in this
section:

���� "Boil water notice"
means a Tier 1 Public Notice required pursuant to the United States
Environmental Protection Agency�s National Primary Drinking Water Regulations
at Section 141, subpart Q of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations.

���� "Public transient
noncommunity water system" means a public water system that is not a
public community water system or a public nontransient noncommunity water
system and that serves at least 25 transient individuals for at least 60 days
in any given calendar year.

���� "Public water
system" means the same as the term is defined in section 3 of P.L.1977,
c.224 (C.58:12A-3), except that it shall not include a public transient
noncommunity water system.

���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill requires public
water systems to provide prompt public notice when a boil water notice is in
effect.� Under the bill, the owner or operator of a public water system is
required to notify its affected customers of a boil water notice as soon as possible,
but no later than 24 hours after the public water system learns of the
emergency or other condition.

���� Beginning 90 days after the
bill is enacted into law, a public water system is required to notify its
customers of a boil water notice via the preferred means of contact of each
customer of the water system.� A public water system is required to acquire the
capability to notify its customers of a boil water notice by telephone,
electronic mail, or text message.� The bill requires that a boil water notice
contain the following information: the name of the public water system
affected; the geographical area affected; the date of the occurrence giving
rise to the boil water notice; the corrective actions to be taken by the
consumers; and a telephone number where customers may reach an appropriate
party to address questions or other concerns.� The bill also requires the owner
or operator of the public water system to notify its customers of the
rescission of a boil water notice in the same manner that the notice was
issued.