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Is Reading, PA tap water safe?

8 utilities serve Reading, by EPA’s records. Here is what EPA’s and Pennsylvania’s records show for each, against the legal limits and the stricter health goals.

Matched to your utility using EPA records.

The short answer

6 of the 8 utilities serving Reading have a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and Pennsylvania’s records: Reading Area Water Authority, West Reading Boro Water, Muhlenberg Twp Muni Auth and 3 more.

Reading Area Water Authority, which serves the most people here, has 1 result above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029 and 1 result above the health goal. The worst: PFOA at 8.5 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029.

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 Reading’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 Reading Area Water Authority’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 Reading

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 Pennsylvania certifies.

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

  • M. J. Reider Associates Inc

    Reading, PA · about 2 miles

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

    (610) 374-5129

  • SPL - Reading

    Reading, PA · about 4 miles

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

    (610) 375-8378

  • Pure-Test Laboratory

    Myerstown, PA · about 21 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics

    (717) 866-2234

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 Pennsylvania

ZIP codes in Reading

Which ZIP codes are in Reading: 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 Reading

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

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