Is Watertown, WI tap water safe?
The short answer
1 of the 3 utilities serving Watertown has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and Wisconsin’s records: Hidden Meadows.
Watertown 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 Watertown Waterworks is very hard, typically 355 mg/L (20.8 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 Watertown’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
Watertown Waterworks
Wisconsin · serves 23,945 people · about 1,700 in Watertown
3 results above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 15 ppb, above the health goal. Hardness: very hard, typically 355 mg/L (20.8 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Hidden Meadows
Wisconsin · serves 166 people · under 100 in Watertown
2 results above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 1.9 ppb, above the health goal. Hardness: very hard, typically 355 mg/L (20.8 grains per gallon).
5 health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Hickory Hill Park LLC
Wisconsin · serves 31 people · under 100 in Watertown
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic at 3.0 ppb, above the health goal. Hardness: very hard, 430 mg/L (25.1 grains per gallon).
No 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 Watertown 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 Watertown
The 3 labs Wisconsin certifies closest to Watertown, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Watertown Department of Public Health Laboratory
Watertown, WI · about 4 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate
C & C Pumps LLC
Hartford, WI · about 19 miles
Certified for bacteria
Waukesha Co Dept of Parks & Land Use – DEH
Waukesha, WI · about 24 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate
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 Watertown: 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 Watertown
Other towns in Jefferson County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read Watertown 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