![Image of a prison and dirty water coming out of a faucet. Canva.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-08/NJ-prison-filtration-image-canva.png?itok=mevxOy6R)
Women Who Never Give Up and Clean Water Action are calling on all of us to join forces and demand better for our loved ones and neighbors in New Jersey's correctional facilities. We need the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), the New Jersey Department of Corrections (NJDOC), and local and state regulators to recognize the serious health risks caused by poor water quality in our prisons.
Many of our state’s correctional facilities are not adequately monitoring or reporting the quality of their water or installing safeguards where they are needed. Places like Mid-State, Mercer County Jail, East Jersey State Prison, Northern State, and Garden State Youth Correctional Facility have faced serious issues. We've heard stories of brown water, skin burns, and even sickness after drinking the water.
These facilities are supposed to protect the health and safety of everyone inside, but they are failing. Contaminants like PFOs, VOCs, 1,2,3-trichloropropane, and EDB can seriously harm the endocrine, reproductive, respiratory, and nervous systems, increasing the risk of diseases like cancer, asthma, and severe liver damage.
We need your help to demand immediate action. By signing our petition, you are standing up for the right to clean drinking water for all.