Is Damascus, MD tap water safe?
The short answer
Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission serves Damascus. In EPA’s and Maryland’s records it has nothing above a health goal, and no health-based violation since 2016.
That data covers what its report lists, not everything.
The water from Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission is moderately hard to hard depending on the source, 70 to 154 mg/L (4.1 to 9 grains per gallon). How Maryland’s water compares.
Some homes in a town are on private wells or a small system of their own. The name on your water bill tells you which is yours.
Water testing near Damascus
The 3 labs Maryland certifies closest to Damascus, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Advanced Environmental Concepts, Inc.
Sykesville, MD · about 15 miles
Certified for organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts
Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission Laboratory Division (WSSC)
Silver Spring, MD · about 18 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts
EMSL Analytical, Inc. - Beltsville
Beltsville, MD · about 22 miles
Certified for bacteria
Maryland Department of Health laboratory: Testing of private well water for bacteria, nitrate, lead, copper, iron, hardness and more, on samples sent in through your local health department. Bacteria is $41, nitrate $18, and lead, copper or iron $20 each. Well Water Testing Fees, Maryland Department of Health.
All 92 certified labs for MarylandWhich ZIP codes are in Damascus: 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: MDE, Maryland's certified drinking water laboratories; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer.
Near Damascus
Other towns in Montgomery County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission’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