Does your water tastes like salt? Here's why.

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Think your drinking water tastes a little salty lately? If you do, you're not alone.

The American Water company sent out a notice Wednesday alerting residents that road salt runoff has made its way into the surface water supply. With the recent snowstorms followed by relatively warmer temperatures, the melted snow and rain streamlines salt into rivers and streams that may also be a source for drinking water.

American Water said residents in eight counties — Essex, Mercer, Middlesex, Morris, Passaic, Somerset and Union — who receive their water from the Raritan River Basin or the Passaic River Basin may have experienced changes to their drinking water.

But the water is still safe to drink, said state environmental officials.

"The salt impacts are minimal," said Larry Hajna, a state Department of Environmental Protection spokesman. "Utilities are doing the right thing putting out advisories for people on salt sensitive diets."

As of March 6, the state Department of Transportation has used 397,622 tons of salt and some of that can run in to streams and other water courses that finds its way to water supplies.

Salt is not a regulated contaminant by the DEP, however water utilities do test and monitor drinking water supplies for high levels of sodium and chloride, he said.

The federal Environmental Protection Administration has set upper limits of 50 milligrams per liter of water for sodium and 250mg per liter for chloride.

"Anyone on a salt-sensitive diet could take precautions like drinking bottled water," Hajna said.

Eventually the extra salt will be flushed out of water supplies as the season progress, he said.

American Water is not the only company in New Jersey to have this problem. In Bergen and Hudson counties, United Water's sodium level is five times the EPA's advisory standard for people on a sodium-restricted diet, said Steve Goudsmith, a spokesman.

"Again, this is not a health concern for average customers," he said. "But those who are on sodium-restricted diets should speak with their physicians."

Goudsmith said municipalities should look at other alternatives to treating roads, like using liquid brine, magnesium or calcium chloride.

Other companies, like Aqua America, whose source is groundwater, rather than reservoirs, have not experienced similar problems.

"While runoff permeates the ground, unlike surface water, groundwater is naturally filtered over a longer period of time," said Donna Alston, a spokeswoman. Aqua America provides water to nine counties in south and central Jersey.

Shorelands Water Company, which provides water to Hazlet and northern Holmdel in Mounmouth County, also said its never seen a rise in sodium levels because their source is groundwater.

New Jersey American Water said it is continuing to work with organizations dedicated to finding "less impactful" ways to maintain the roads.

While state Department of Transportation officials said their primary job is to keep highways clear of snow and ice, they said have used less salt this year and more environmentally friendly brine.

"This winter the Department tripled the number of brine applicators we use because it is a cost effective method to pre-treat highways, as well as a more effective way to prevent snow from adhering to road surfaces," said Stephen Schapiro, a DOT spokesman.

Brine is a less concentrated form of salt, since the majority of the solution is water, which also means it is more environmentally friendly, he said.

"The salt concentration of brine is less than using traditional salt," he said.

Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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