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Merrymeeting MHP

What EPA’s and CDC’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
265 people
Connections
106
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Alton, NH
County
Belknap
Owner
Private
The ZIP code it serves

03809

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit, and 2 more are above the health goal. The worst: Lead, above the action level. No health-based violations on file since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2006 to 2011.

Copper: EPA’s file records a utility’s copper only when it exceeds the action level. The last here was 4.1 ppm, for the period ending Dec. 31, 2011. None since is on file, so it is not counted as a current finding.

Arsenic, uranium and nitrate: New Hampshire’s yearly averages per water system, as CDC’s Environmental Public Health Tracking Network publishes them, 2020 to 2023, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Fluoride and chromium (total): EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from Dec. 22, 2015 to Nov. 19, 2018. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.

Above the legal limit1

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the action level

22ppb

90th percentile, 2011

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 22 ppb, above EPA’s action level of 15 ppb. The action level drops to 10 ppb on Nov. 1, 2027, and this result is at or above that. EPA’s health goal for lead is zero.

What handles it

Above the health goal2

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

2.0ppb

Highest yearly average, 2021

Averaged by year, the highest was 2.0 ppb, in 2021: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. That is the only year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 1.7 ppb, in 2018.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”

Uranium

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

4.4ppb

Highest yearly average, 2022

Averaged by year, the highest was 4.4 ppb, in 2022: below EPA’s legal limit of 30 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. That is the only year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 2.7 ppb, in 2019.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits2

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.24ppm

Highest yearly average, 2015 to 2018

2018, one sample: 0.23 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.24 ppm, in 2015, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2018, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.23 ppm.

What handles it

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.32ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023

2023: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.32 ppm, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2023, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 0.29 ppm, in 2015.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”
One compound tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Chromium (total)

What handles it

A certification covers specific claims, not a whole standard. Look for these claims on the certifier’s listing, not the box. Wording varies a little: NSF writes “Lead Reduction,” WQA just “Lead.”

  • NSF/ANSI 53

    Claims: Lead Reduction, Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction

    For: Lead, Arsenic

    Other certifiers’ wording: Arsenic (III) (50 ppb influent level)

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Lead Reduction, Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction, Uranium

    For: Lead, Arsenic, Uranium

    Other certifiers’ wording: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=300 ppb Reduction; Arsenic (V) (300 ppb influent level)

At the tap, or for the whole house?

Lead and copper usually come from pipes and fixtures inside or near your home. A whole-house system sits where water enters, so it cannot catch what your own plumbing adds after it. For those, the filter that counts is the one at the tap. How whole-house systems compare.

Filters with those claims on a certifier’s listing

Disclosure: TapBuff earns a commission if you buy through some links on this page. It does not change which standard or filter we name. As an Amazon Associate, TapBuff earns from qualifying purchases. How TapBuff makes money

Compare five-year costs

The best water filters for lead, ranked

The best reverse osmosis systems, ranked

Violations since 2016

No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016. There are 2 monitoring or reporting violations: a sample missed, late or not reported.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Arsenic, uranium and nitrate results here are New Hampshire’s yearly averages as CDC publishes them, from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Fluoride and chromium (total) come from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Merrymeeting MHP’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; CDC’s yearly averages for New Hampshire cover 2020 to 2023; EPA’s compliance samples are from Dec. 22, 2015 to Nov. 19, 2018.

Testing your own tap

Merrymeeting MHP’s results are for the water it sends out. What your own service line, solder and fixtures add shows up only in a test of your tap, by a lab New Hampshire certifies.

The 3 labs New Hampshire certifies closest to the area Merrymeeting MHP serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Laconia Water Works Laboratory

    Lakeport, NH · about 16 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (603) 524-1096

  • Eurofins Concord

    Concord, NH · about 24 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts

    (603) 228-0525

  • New Hampshire DHHS Public Health Laboratories

    Concord, NH · about 24 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts, radioactivity

    (603) 271-3445

All 63 certified labs for New Hampshire

Sources

PWSID NH0063020. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Belknap County

All New Hampshire utilities

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