Does the tap water in your house taste a bit salty? If the answer is yes, you're not alone. 

Road salt has seeped into the water supply in parts of New Jersey causing a salty taste. (Fuse, ThinkStock)
Road salt has seeped into the water supply in parts of New Jersey causing a salty taste. (Fuse, ThinkStock)
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During the winter, municipal and state crews in New Jersey used a lot of road salt to keep the highways clear, and that salt has seeped into the ground and is now affecting drinking water supplies all over the Garden State.

"For most people, the majority of folks, this is not a real health concern, but for those who are on very low sodium diets, they should certainly be checking with their physicians," said Rich Henning, a spokesman for United Water New Jersey.

He pointed out the taste may not be pleasant but it's actually less salty than some common soft drinks.

"The amount of salt that may be in the water supply barely even comes up to the amount of salt that's in a can of Coke or a can of Pepsi," he said.

So how long will the water taste salty?

"Depending on how much was put down dictates how long it takes to get out of the system," Henning said. "I would say over the next few months it'll wean its way right out of the system."

He added water treatment systems are very structured, and right now in New Jersey they don't take into account road salt as a primary element to take out of the water supply.

"It really hasn't been a problem in New Jersey for quite some time," he said. "We have had two severe winters in a row with a lot more road salt being used, and we don't know what will happen next winter, so for now the water treatment system is not going to be changed."

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