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Is Newton, MA tap water safe?

3 utilities serve Newton, by EPA’s records. Here is what EPA’s and Massachusetts’s records show for each, against the legal limits and the stricter health goals.

Matched to your utility using EPA records.

The short answer

1 of the 3 utilities serving Newton has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and Massachusetts’s records: Boston Water and Sewer Commission (MWRA).

Newton Water Dept. (MWRA), which serves the most people here, has 1 result above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 1.3 ppb, above the health goal. Health goals are stricter than legal limits and are not enforced.

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 Newton’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.

What handles it

Each of these is certified, on a certifier’s listing, for a result above a line in Newton Water Dept. (MWRA)’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.

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Every claim, and more filters, in the full report

Water testing near Newton

A utility tests the water it sends out. A test of your own tap shows what your pipes add, and on a private well it is the only test there is. It takes a lab Massachusetts certifies.

The 3 labs Massachusetts certifies closest to Newton, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Mass DPH Environmental Chemistry Lab

    Jamaica Plain, MA · about 5 miles

    Certified for lead and copper, metals

    (617) 983-6654

  • White Lodge Laboratory

    Westwood, MA · about 8 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (781) 710-6498

  • G and L Labs Inc.

    Quincy, MA · about 11 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (617) 328-3663

All 81 certified labs for Massachusetts

ZIP codes in Newton

Which ZIP codes are in Newton: 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 Newton

Other towns in Middlesex County with a page of their own.

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