Gilbertville Water District
What EPA’s and Massachusetts’s records show in this utility’s water: nitrate, arsenic and other regulated chemicals; lead and copper; and violations since 2016, with the certification that handles each result.
- Serves
- 1,089 people
- Connections
- 220
- Water source
- Groundwater
- Based in
- Hardwick, MA
- County
- Worcester
- Owner
- Local government
The ZIP code it serves
The short answer
Nothing in EPA’s and Massachusetts’s records for this utility is above a health goal. That covers nitrate, arsenic and other regulated chemicals, plus lead and copper, not everything. No health-based violations on file since 2016.
What was found
Nitrate: Massachusetts’s own results, samples taken from Aug. 16, 2023 to July 8, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.
Fluoride, chromium (total) and arsenic: EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from Aug. 20, 2014 to Aug. 20, 2014. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.
Below EPA’s limits3
Fluoride
Forms or is added in treatment
0.055ppm
Highest yearly average, 2014
Averaged by year, the highest was 0.055 ppm, in 2014, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. Its highest single sample was 0.06 ppm. That is the only year on file.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Fluoride Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Fluoride”
Nitrate
Comes from the source
0.1ppm
Highest sample; found in 8 of 8
2026 average: 0.085 ppm
The highest sample, in 2025, was 0.1 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 0.085 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 0.16 ppm, in 2015.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”
Chromium (total)
Comes from the source
0.9ppb
Highest yearly average, 2014
Averaged by year, the highest was 0.9 ppb, in 2014, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. Its highest single sample was 1.8 ppb. That is the only year on file.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Chromium (Hexavalent) Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Chromium Reduction”
2 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
- Arsenic
- Lead
Violations since 2016
No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016.
What this report can’t tell you
Everything else. Nitrate results here are Massachusetts’s own from 2023 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Fluoride, chromium (total) and arsenic come from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Gilbertville Water District’s own annual report, which it must send you every year, has newer results for those and the contaminants this page does not show.
Your own plumbing. Lead results are the 90th percentile across homes the utility samples. Your home’s service line, solder and fixtures decide yours. A certified lab test is the only way to know.
What it means for your health. This page reports what the records show and EPA’s limits and goals; it is not medical advice. If you are worried about a health effect, talk to a doctor or your local health department.
Anything after the latest data. SDWIS data is from 2026 Q3; UCMR 5 didn’t sample this utility; Massachusetts’s results run from Aug. 16, 2023 to July 8, 2026; EPA’s compliance samples are from Aug. 20, 2014 to Aug. 20, 2014.
Testing your own tap
The 3 labs Massachusetts certifies closest to the area Gilbertville Water District serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Quabbin Analytical Laboratory
Belchertown, MA · about 11 miles
Certified for bacteria
Eurofins-Worcester
Worcester, MA · about 21 miles
Certified for bacteria
Howard Laboratories LLC
South Deerfield, MA · about 24 miles
Certified for bacteria
Sources
- EPA UCMR 5 occurrence data, file of Oct. 15, 2026
- EPA SDWA bulk download (SDWIS federal data), 2026 Q3
- Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, Drinking Water Program, results from Jan. 2, 2020 to Oct. 5, 2026, read Oct. 8, 2026
- EPA Six-Year Review 4 compliance monitoring data, 2012 to 2019, file of Feb. 5, 2024
- Certified labs: MassDEP Online Searchable Laboratory Certification Listing, potable water, read Oct. 16, 2026; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer
- Limits and goals: each contaminant’s page, with its EPA source.
- How this page is built: methodology.
PWSID MA1124001. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.
What to do next
- Nothing here is above a health goalIn EPA’s and Massachusetts’s records for this utility. They don’t cover everything, which is why the next step matters.Every contaminant TapBuff tracks
- Get the utility’s own reportGilbertville Water District must send you a water quality report every year. It covers contaminants this page does not show, and has newer results than EPA’s national file for the ones here that come from it.How to read it
- Test your own tap for leadYour service line, solder and fixtures decide the lead at your faucet, not the utility’s average.Lead in your water: what to do
- 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