Salem Water Department
What EPA’s and New York’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
- 915 people
- Connections
- 321
- Water source
- Groundwater
- Based in
- Salem (V), NY
- County
- Washington
- Owner
- Local government
The ZIP code it serves
The short answer
Nothing in EPA’s and New York’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
Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), arsenic and nitrate: New York’s yearly summaries per water system, 2020 to 2024, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.
Chromium (total) and fluoride: EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from July 14, 2014 to July 24, 2017. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.
Below EPA’s limits2
Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)
Forms or is added in treatment
29ppb
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2024
2024 average: 17 ppb
Averaged by year, the highest was 29 ppb, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2024, the latest year on file, it averaged 17 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 12.2 ppb, in 2013.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
Forms or is added in treatment
19.5ppb
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2024
2024 average: 13.3 ppb
Averaged by year, the highest was 19.5 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2024, the latest year on file, it averaged 13.3 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 7.9 ppb, in 2013.
What handles it
No certification claim covers this compound yet.
5 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
- Arsenic
- Chromium (total)
- Fluoride
- Lead
- Nitrate
Violations since 2016
No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016.
What this report can’t tell you
Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), arsenic and nitrate results here are New York’s own yearly summaries from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Chromium (total) and fluoride come from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Salem Water Department’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; New York’s yearly summaries cover 2020 to 2024; EPA’s compliance samples are from July 14, 2014 to July 24, 2017.
Testing your own tap
The 3 labs New York certifies closest to the area Salem Water Department serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Queensbury Laboratory
Queensbury, NY · about 19 miles
Certified for bacteria
Endyne, Inc.
Lake George, NY · about 23 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate
Pace Analytical Services,llc-Ballston Spa
Ballston Spa, NY · about 30 miles
Certified for bacteria
Sources
- EPA UCMR 5 occurrence data, file of Oct. 15, 2026
- EPA SDWA bulk download (SDWIS federal data), 2026 Q3
- New York State Department of Health, Environmental Public Health Tracker, results from Jan. 1, 2020 to Dec. 31, 2024, read Oct. 8, 2026
- EPA Six-Year Review 4 compliance monitoring data, 2012 to 2019, file of Feb. 5, 2024
- Certified labs: NYS Environmental Laboratory Approval Program (ELAP), drinking water labs, as listed in TNI LAMS, read Oct. 11, 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 NY5730106. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.
What to do next
- Nothing here is above a health goalIn EPA’s and New York’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 reportSalem Water Department must send you a water quality report every year. It covers contaminants this page does not show, and has newer results than EPA’s national file for the ones here that come from it.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