South Grafton 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
- 3,262 people
- Connections
- 971
- Water source
- Groundwater influenced by surface water
- Based in
- Grafton, 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
Copper: EPA’s file records a utility’s copper only when it exceeds the action level. The last here was 1.4 ppm, for the period ending Dec. 31, 2009. None since is on file, so it is not counted as a current finding.
Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, haloacetic acids (HAA5), arsenic, chromium (total) and fluoride: Massachusetts’s own results, samples taken from Feb. 3, 2020 to Aug. 3, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.
Below EPA’s limits3
Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)
Forms or is added in treatment
18.6ppb
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026
2026, one sample: 8.2 ppb
Averaged by year, the highest was 18.6 ppb, in 2024, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 31 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 8.2 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 23 ppb, in 2019.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
Nitrate
Comes from the source
1.7ppm
Highest sample; found in 11 of 19
2026 average: 1.1 ppm
The highest sample, in 2021, was 1.7 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 1.1 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 2.6 ppm, in 2015.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”
Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
Forms or is added in treatment
3.9ppb
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2025
2025 average: 3.8 ppb
Averaged by year, the highest was 3.9 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 8.9 ppb. In 2025, the latest year on file, its 10 samples averaged 3.8 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 4.5 ppb, in 2015.
What handles it
No certification claim covers this compound yet.
4 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
- Arsenic
- Chromium (total)
- Fluoride
- Lead
Violations since 2016
No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016. There are 5 monitoring or reporting violations: a sample missed, late or not reported.
What this report can’t tell you
Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, haloacetic acids (HAA5), arsenic, chromium (total) and fluoride results here are Massachusetts’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. South Grafton Water District’s own annual report, which it must send you every year, has 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 Feb. 3, 2020 to Aug. 3, 2026.
Testing your own tap
The 3 labs Massachusetts certifies closest to the area South Grafton Water District serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Pace Analytical LLC-Westborough
Westborough, MA · about 7 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, minerals and other inorganics
Proverde Environmental, Inc.
Milford, MA · about 8 miles
Certified for PFAS
Eurofins-Worcester
Worcester, MA · about 11 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 MA2110001. 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 reportSouth Grafton Water District must send you a water quality report every year. It covers contaminants this page does not show.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