Is Rochester, WI tap water safe?
The short answer
3 of the 4 utilities serving Rochester have a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and Wisconsin’s records: Waterford Waterworks, River Springs Apartments LLC and Country Estates Sanitary District Town of Lyons 1.
Burlington Waterworks, which serves the most people here, has 3 results above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 15 ppb, above the health goal. Health goals are stricter than legal limits and are not enforced.
The water from Burlington Waterworks is moderately hard to very hard depending on the source, 110 to 245 mg/L (6.4 to 14.3 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 Rochester’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
Burlington Waterworks
Wisconsin · serves 11,043 people · about 1,200 in Rochester
3 results above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 15 ppb, above the health goal. Hardness: moderately hard to very hard depending on the source, 110 to 245 mg/L (6.4 to 14.3 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Waterford Waterworks
Wisconsin · serves 5,368 people · about 400 in Rochester
1 result above the limit’s level with no violation recorded and 3 results above the health goal. The worst: Haloacetic acids (HAA5) at 89.7 ppb, above the limit’s level, no violation. Hardness: very hard, typically 357 mg/L (20.9 grains per gallon).
1 health-based violation since 2016
- Open report
River Springs Apartments LLC
Wisconsin · serves 38 people · under 100 in Rochester
Nothing in its records is above a health goal. Hardness: very hard, 440 mg/L (25.7 grains per gallon).
1 health-based violation since 2016
- Open report
Country Estates Sanitary District Town of Lyons 1
Wisconsin · serves 500 people · under 100 in Rochester
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 1.4 ppb, above the health goal. Hardness: hard, 125 mg/L (7.3 grains per gallon).
2 health-based violations since 2016
What handles it
Each of these is certified, on a certifier’s listing, for a result above a line in Burlington Waterworks’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.
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Aquasana SmartFlow Reverse Osmosis (AQ-SFRO2)
Under-sink reverse osmosis
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 58NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 9, 2026
Certified for: Lead, Arsenic
Brondell Capella RC250 Reverse Osmosis System
Under-sink reverse osmosis
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 58NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 9, 2026
Certified for: Lead, Arsenic
Water testing near Rochester
The 3 labs Wisconsin certifies closest to Rochester, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
S & R Krizan Pump Service Incorporated
Wind Lake, WI · about 5 miles
Certified for bacteria
Walworth Co. Health & Human Services
Elkhorn, WI · about 15 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate
Lake Geneva Utility Commission
Lake Geneva, WI · about 17 miles
Certified for bacteria
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 WisconsinWhich ZIP codes are in Rochester: 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 Rochester
Other towns in Racine County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read Burlington Waterworks’s full reportEvery result with its dates, the violations, and the certification claim that handles each finding.Open the report
- Filters for LeadRanked by certification and what they cost over five years.The best water filters for lead, ranked
- On a private well?No utility tests a well. A certified lab test is the first step.How to test well water