The city is now facing a lawsuit from a non-profit on behalf of residents.
Extremely upset," Newark resident Yvette Jordan said.
Everything is fine,’" Jordan recounted.
But the city is now telling residents in some areas their tap water is not fine: it contains lead above federal guidelines.
Mayor Ras Baraka said the problem comes from old water pipes found in some neighborhoods that leach lead into the drinking water.
The study report came back last month and found a problem at one of the city’s two water treatment plants: the methods used to stop lead from leaching into drinking water from those old pipes?
"The city has really been in denial and shrugged their shoulders and said our water is safe, people should drink it, until just a couple of weeks ago until we sued them and asked for an injunction on behalf of the citizens in Newark to clean up the water," Olson said.
The group is suing the city for violating the federal drinking water law, saying the lead levels are "some of the highest" of "any large city" nationally, a problem they compare to that of Flint, Michigan.
"But from this, from the water."
"No," Baraka said.