Is Fall River, MA tap water safe?
The short answer
1 of the 3 utilities serving Fall River has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and Massachusetts’s records: Dartmouth Water Division.
Fall River Water Department, which serves the most people here, has 1 result above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 12 ppb, above the health goal. Health goals are stricter than legal limits and are not enforced.
The water from Fall River Water Department is soft, 8.5 mg/L (0.5 grains per gallon). How Massachusetts’s water compares.
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 Fall River’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
Fall River Water Department
Massachusetts · serves 94,000 people · nearly all in Fall River
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 12 ppb, above the health goal. Hardness: soft, 8.5 mg/L (0.5 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Dartmouth Water Division
Massachusetts · serves 24,696 people · about 1,600 in Fall River
2 results above the legal limit, 2 results above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029 and 1 result above the health goal. The worst: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at 63.4 ppb, above the legal limit. Hardness: soft, typically 23 mg/L (1.3 grains per gallon).
12 health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Freetown Water Commission
Massachusetts · serves 1,600 people · about 470 in Fall River
Nothing in its records is above a health goal.
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 Fall River Water Department’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.
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Brita Tahoe Pitcher with Elite Filter (OB60, OB06)
Pitcher
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 13, 2026
- IAPMO listing:NSF/ANSI 53checked Oct. 13, 2026
Certified for: Lead
Brita Everyday Pitcher with Elite Filter (OB46, OB06)
Pitcher
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 13, 2026
Certified for: Lead
PUR PLUS 11-Cup Pitcher (PPT111W)
Pitcher
- NSF listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 4, 2026
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 4, 2026
- IAPMO listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 4, 2026
Certified for: Lead
Water testing near Fall River
The 3 labs Massachusetts certifies closest to Fall River, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
New Bedford Health Department Lab
New Bedford, MA · about 11 miles
Certified for bacteria
RI Analytical Laboratories Inc.
Warwick, RI · about 17 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts, PFAS
Eurofins Providence (AB)
Middleborough, MA · about 18 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics
Which ZIP codes are in Fall River: 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: MassDEP Online Searchable Laboratory Certification Listing, potable water; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer.
Near Fall River
Other towns in Bristol County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read Fall River Water Department’s full reportEvery result with its dates, the violations, and the certification claim that handles each finding.Open the report
- Filters for LeadRanked by certification and what they cost over five years.The best water filters for lead, ranked
- On a private well?No utility tests a well. A certified lab test is the first step.How to test well water