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Is Madison, WI tap water safe?

13 utilities serve Madison, by EPA’s records. Here is what EPA’s and Wisconsin’s records show for each, against the legal limits and the stricter health goals.

Matched to your utility using EPA records.

The short answer

2 of the 13 utilities serving Madison have a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and Wisconsin’s records: Madison Water Utility and Lake Forest Water Coop.

Madison Water Utility, which serves the most people here, has 3 results above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 1.8 ppb, above the health goal. Health goals are stricter than legal limits and are not enforced.

The water from Madison Water Utility is very hard, typically 345 mg/L (20.2 grains per gallon). How Wisconsin’s water compares.

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 Madison’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.

3 more utilities in Madison

By EPA’s estimate, each serves fewer people in Madison than those above.

What handles it

Each of these is certified, on a certifier’s listing, for a result above a line in Madison Water Utility’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 Madison

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 Wisconsin certifies.

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

  • Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene

    Madison, WI · under a mile

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

    (608) 224-6260

  • Public Health Madison & Dane County

    Madison, WI · about 2 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (608) 243-0357

  • Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection

    Madison, WI · about 7 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (608) 224-4821

Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene: Well water test kits ordered by phone and shipped free; you pay to mail the sample back, and the lab bills you after testing. Tests run from bacteria alone to a homeowner package covering bacteria, nitrate, fluoride, metals, hardness, volatile organic compounds and atrazine. Bacteria is $35, nitrate $35, lead $38, and the homeowner package $450, as of July 1, 2026. Public Environmental and Water Testing Prices, Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene.

All 156 certified labs for Wisconsin

ZIP codes in Madison

Which ZIP codes are in Madison: 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: Wisconsin DNR and DATCP, certified and approved drinking water laboratories; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer.

Near Madison

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

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