Is Harrisburg, PA tap water safe?
The short answer
1 of the 3 utilities serving Harrisburg has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and Pennsylvania’s records: Mountaindale Apartments.
Capital Region Water, which serves the most people here, has nothing above a health goal in EPA’s and Pennsylvania’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 Harrisburg’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
Capital Region Water
Pennsylvania · serves 66,540 people · about 34,800 in Harrisburg
Nothing in its records is above a health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Veolia Water
Pennsylvania · serves 110,000 people · about 3,200 in Harrisburg
3 results above the health goal. The worst: PFOA at 3.6 ppt, above the health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Mountaindale Apartments
Pennsylvania · serves 50 people · under 100 in Harrisburg
1 result above the action level. The worst: Lead at 31.2 ppb, above the action level.
No health-based violations since 2016
Water testing near Harrisburg
The 3 labs Pennsylvania certifies closest to Harrisburg, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
H2O Environmental LLC
Harrisburg, PA · about 5 miles
Certified for bacteria
Microbac Laboratories, Inc. - Harrisburg
Harrisburg, PA · about 9 miles
ALS Environmental - Middletown
Middletown, PA · about 10 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts, PFAS, radioactivity
Penn State Agricultural Analytical Services Laboratory: Drinking water test kits from many county Extension offices, mailed back to the lab overnight with payment. Packages cover bacteria and basic chemistry, with add-ons for nitrate, metals, lead, and mining or gas drilling concerns. The standard package of bacteria, pH and total dissolved solids is $60, or $70 with nitrate; bacteria alone is $40, nitrate $15 and lead $25. Drinking Water Testing, Penn State Agricultural Analytical Services Lab.
All 108 certified labs for PennsylvaniaWhich ZIP codes are in Harrisburg: 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: Pennsylvania DEP Laboratory Accreditation Program, accredited labs for drinking water; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer.
Near Harrisburg
Other towns in Dauphin County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read Capital Region Water’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