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Is Bristol, CT tap water safe?

3 utilities serve Bristol, by EPA’s records. Here is what EPA’s and CDC’s records show for each, against the legal limits and the stricter health goals.

Matched to your utility using EPA records.

The short answer

2 of the 3 utilities serving Bristol have a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and CDC’s records: Ctwc - Unionville System and Aquarion - Plainville Regional.

Bristol Water Department, which serves the most people here, has 1 result above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029. The worst: PFOA at 4.1 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029.

A town can be served by more than one utility, and some homes are on private wells. The name on your water bill tells you which is yours, and your ZIP code narrows it down. They are listed by how many people each serves in Bristol’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.

What handles it

Each of these is certified, on a certifier’s listing, for a result above a line in Bristol Water Department’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.

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Every claim, and more filters, in the full report

Water testing near Bristol

A utility tests the water it sends out. A test of your own tap shows what your pipes add, and on a private well it is the only test there is. It takes a lab Connecticut certifies.

The 3 labs Connecticut certifies closest to Bristol, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Northwest Environmental Water Labs

    Waterbury, CT · about 10 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, metals, minerals and other inorganics

    (203) 437-4110

  • EMSL Analytical, Inc. - CT

    Meriden, CT · about 11 miles

    Certified for bacteria, asbestos

    (203) 284-5948

  • Northeast Laboratories, Inc

    Rocky Hill, CT · about 15 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (860) 828-9787 ext. 108

All 86 certified labs for Connecticut

ZIP codes in Bristol

Which ZIP codes are in Bristol: Census 2020 relationship files. Which utilities serve them, and how many people: EPA SDWIS and EPA’s service area map. Each utility’s results: EPA UCMR 5, EPA SDWIS, and EPA’s and the state’s compliance monitoring, as its report lists them. How they are measured: methodology. Certified labs: Connecticut DPH, approved commercial laboratories certified to test drinking water; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer.

Near Bristol

Other towns in Hartford County with a page of their own.

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