Judge weighing expansion of bottled water in Newark

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A federal judge is weighing whether Newark should have to expand its distribution of bottled water to more residents potentially affected by high lead levels.

The judge is considering on Thursday whether the New Jersey city should give water to residents served by the (WAHN’-ah’-kyoo) treatment plant, as a lawsuit filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council has sought.

Newark is already giving out water to tens of thousands of residents served by the Pequannock (peh-KWON’-nuck) water treatment plant northwest of the city. Residents have received filters, but a test of three homes recently showed levels hadn’t fallen below allowable thresholds.

The city has challenged the NRDC’s contentions that the expansion is necessary.