Is Amherst, NH tap water safe?
The short answer
None of the 5 utilities serving Amherst has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and CDC’s records.
Pennichuck Water Works, which serves the most people here, has nothing above a health goal in EPA’s and CDC’s records. That data covers what its report lists, not everything.
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 Amherst’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
Pennichuck Water Works
New Hampshire · serves 88,853 people · about 140 in Amherst
Nothing in its records is above a health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Ridgewood Estates
New Hampshire · serves 115 people · under 100 in Amherst
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Uranium at 1.0 ppb, above the health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Souhegan Woods
New Hampshire · serves 298 people · under 100 in Amherst
Nothing in its records is above a health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Gowing Woods
New Hampshire · serves 53 people · under 100 in Amherst
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Uranium at 6.2 ppb, above the health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Connor Court
New Hampshire · serves 51 people · under 100 in Amherst
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Uranium at 2.8 ppb, above the health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
Water testing near Amherst
The 3 labs New Hampshire certifies closest to Amherst, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Nelson Analytical LLC
Manchester, NH · about 12 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts
Eurofins Derry
Derry, NH · about 16 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts, PFAS
Eurofins Concord
Concord, NH · about 25 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts
ZIP codes in Amherst
Which ZIP codes are in Amherst: 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: New Hampshire ELAP, drinking water labs, as listed in TNI LAMS; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer.
Near Amherst
Other towns in Hillsborough County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read Pennichuck Water Works’s full reportEvery result with its dates, the violations, and the certification claim that handles each finding.Open the report
- 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
- On a private well?No utility tests a well. A certified lab test is the first step.How to test well water