Is Durham, CT tap water safe?
The short answer
3 of the 5 utilities serving Durham have a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and CDC’s records: Blue Trails Water Association, Durham Elderly Housing Division and Yeshiva of Waterbury - Durham Campus.
Durham Lexington Place Division, which serves the most people here, has nothing above a health goal in EPA’s and CDC’s records. That data covers what its report lists, not everything.
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 Durham’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
Durham Lexington Place Division
Connecticut · serves 45 people · nearly all in Durham
Nothing in its records is above a health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Durham Center Division
Connecticut · serves 1,601 people · about 130 in Durham
Nothing in its records is above a health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Blue Trails Water Association
Connecticut · serves 224 people · under 100 in Durham
2 results above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 2.4 ppb, above the health goal.
2 health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Durham Elderly Housing Division
Connecticut · serves 50 people · nearly all in Durham
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Uranium at 2.5 ppb, above the health goal.
1 health-based violation since 2016
- Open report
Yeshiva of Waterbury - Durham Campus
Connecticut · serves 490 people · lists Durham among the places it serves
Nothing in its records is above a health goal.
2 health-based violations since 2016
Water testing near Durham
The 3 labs Connecticut certifies closest to Durham, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Environmental Monitoring Lab
Wallingford, CT · about 6 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts
EMSL Analytical, Inc. - CT
Meriden, CT · about 9 miles
Certified for bacteria, asbestos
Environmental Consulting Lab
Madison, CT · about 9 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, metals, minerals and other inorganics, radioactivity
ZIP codes in Durham
Which ZIP codes are in Durham: 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 Durham
Other towns in Middlesex County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read Durham Lexington Place Division’s full reportEvery result with its dates, the violations, and the certification claim that handles each finding.Open the report
- Decide if you want a filter at allA filter for taste or chlorine is a preference, not a need. The standards say what each kind can do.NSF/ANSI standards, decoded
- On a private well?No utility tests a well. A certified lab test is the first step.How to test well water