Is Portland, CT tap water safe?
The short answer
None of the 4 utilities serving Portland has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and CDC’s records.
Portland Water Department, 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 Portland’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
Portland Water Department
Connecticut · serves 5,010 people · about 1,900 in Portland
Nothing in its records is above a health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Aquarion - Marlborough
Connecticut · serves 1,348 people · about 100 in Portland
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 0.6 ppb, above the health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Ctwc - Rivercrest Division
Connecticut · serves 88 people · under 100 in Portland
2 results above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 0.6 ppb, above the health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Metropolitan District Commission
Connecticut · serves 390,887 people · under 100 in Portland
Nothing in its records is above a health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
Water testing near Portland
The 3 labs Connecticut certifies closest to Portland, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Northeast Laboratories, Inc
Rocky Hill, CT · about 5 miles
Certified for bacteria
Phoenix Environmental Laboratories, Inc.
Manchester, CT · about 12 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts, radioactivity
EMSL Analytical, Inc. - CT
Meriden, CT · about 13 miles
Certified for bacteria, asbestos
ZIP codes in Portland
Which ZIP codes are in Portland: 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 Portland
Other towns in Middlesex County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read Portland Water Department’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