Is Manchester, CT tap water safe?
The short answer
1 of the 4 utilities serving Manchester has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and CDC’s records: Ctwc - Redwood Farms Division.
Manchester Water Department, which serves the most people here, has 2 results above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029 and 1 result above the health goal. The worst: PFOS at 16 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 Manchester’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
Manchester Water Department
Connecticut · serves 51,198 people · about 19,100 in Manchester
2 results above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029 and 1 result above the health goal. The worst: PFOS at 16 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Metropolitan District Commission
Connecticut · serves 390,887 people · about 530 in Manchester
Nothing in its records is above a health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Ctwc - Redwood Farms Division
Connecticut · serves 424 people · about 220 in Manchester
2 results above the health goal. The worst: Uranium at 3.0 ppb, above the health goal.
2 health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Ctwc - Northern Reg - Western System
Connecticut · serves 101,313 people · under 100 in Manchester
2 results above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029, 2 results above the health goal and 1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: PFOA at 8.0 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029.
No health-based violations since 2016
What handles it
Each of these is certified, on a certifier’s listing, for a result above a line in Manchester Water Department’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.
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ZeroWater 10 Cup Pitcher (ZP-010)
Pitcher
- IAPMO listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53checked Oct. 4, 2026
Certified for: PFOS, PFOA
Aquasana Claryum Direct Connect (AQ-MF-1)
Under-sink carbon
- IAPMO listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 16, 2026
Certified for: PFOS, PFOA
Express Water StreamLine Direct Connect System (USC001)
Under-sink carbon
- IAPMO listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 16, 2026
Certified for: PFOS, PFOA
Water testing near Manchester
The 3 labs Connecticut certifies closest to Manchester, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Phoenix Environmental Laboratories, Inc.
Manchester, CT · about 1 mile
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts, radioactivity
Envirotech Laboratory
Windsor, CT · about 10 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, metals, minerals and other inorganics, radioactivity
Northeast Laboratories, Inc
Rocky Hill, CT · about 11 miles
Certified for bacteria
Which ZIP codes are in Manchester: 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 Manchester
Other towns in Hartford County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read Manchester Water Department’s full reportEvery result with its dates, the violations, and the certification claim that handles each finding.Open the report
- Filters for PFOSRanked by certification and what they cost over five years.The best water filters for PFAS, ranked
- On a private well?No utility tests a well. A certified lab test is the first step.How to test well water