CITY WATER REPORT
Is Boston Tap Water Safe? 2026 Water Quality Report
BOSTON WATER AND SEWER COMMISSION (MWRA) serves Boston · 675,647 residents.
- Utility
- BOSTON WATER AND SEWER COMMISSION (MWRA)
- Population served
- 675,647
- Water source
- Surface water
- Disinfectant
- chloramine
- Hardness
- Pending utility report
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA): not detected (limit 4.0 ng/L).
About this score The Purity Score summarises the public records PurityMap analysed for Boston. It is not a laboratory test of the water at your tap.
What the record showsGreen means a contaminant was measured and is within its benchmark: a fact about that measurement, not an overall verdict. Anything not yet monitored stays unknown.
BOSTON WATER AND SEWER COMMISSION (MWRA) (EPA PWSID MA3035000) delivers surface water to 675,647 residents. This report reflects 3 federally regulated PFAS result(s) from the 2024 UCMR5 round and the latest Lead & Copper Rule 90th-percentile result. The utility's 2025 CCR reports chloramine disinfection.
Your water system
resolution confirmed
- BOSTON WATER AND SEWER COMMISSION (MWRA) (serves most of the city)
BOSTON WATER AND SEWER COMMISSION (MWRA) is the primary municipal supplier for most Boston addresses. Confirm your supplier on your utility bill.
BOSTON WATER AND SEWER COMMISSION (MWRA) is the public system on record for this city. This identifies which utility serves the city. Confirm yours on your water bill before acting on a specific finding.
What stands out in Boston
Each row links to a dated measurement in the supplier profile. A missing measurement is never shown as a non-detect.
What this data doesn’t tell you
Public water-system monitoring reflects the system, not the water at an individual household tap at a given moment. Home plumbing, fixtures, storage, sampling location and timing can all change what actually reaches your glass.
The data behind this report
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)
- Result
- < 4 ng/L
- Benchmark
- 4.0 ng/L federal MCL (2024)
- Sampled
- 2024
Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS)
- Result
- < 4 ng/L
- Benchmark
- 4.0 ng/L federal MCL (2024)
- Sampled
- 2024
Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS)
- Result
- < 10 ng/L
- Benchmark
- 10.0 ng/L federal MCL (2024)
- Sampled
- 2024
Lead (90th percentile)
- Result
- 22.5 µg/L
- Benchmark
- 15 µg/L federal action level
- Sampled
- 2025-2025
Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)
- Result
- 16.1 ppb
- Benchmark
- 80 ppb federal MCL
- Sampled
- 2025
Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
- Result
- 15.8 ppb
- Benchmark
- 60 ppb federal MCL
- Sampled
- 2025
Nitrate
- Result
- 0.64 mg/L
- Benchmark
- 10 mg/L
- Sampled
- 2025
Copper
- Result
- 0.097 mg/L
- Benchmark
- 1.3 mg/L (action level)
- Sampled
- 2025
Fluoride
- Result
- 0.71 mg/L
- Benchmark
- 4.0 mg/L
- Sampled
- 2025
Every value is the published result from the cited public record. A reporting limit is the lowest level the method could reliably quantify; a non-detect is not a guarantee of zero.
What can you do about it?To reduce exposure to what was reported in Boston, these treatment technologies are relevant to the contaminants found here.
- Reverse osmosis
- NSF/ANSI 53 lead-certified filters
- Replacing lead service lines
- Activated carbon
- Anion exchange
- Distillation
- Corrosion-control / pH adjustment
- Flushing standing water before use
- Activated alumina / adsorptive media
Understand water treatment technologies, then the specific products below are matched to these findings.
Recommended solutions
NSF/ANSI 53 lead-reduction filter (optional)
leadOur pick: Brita Large 10-Cup Elite Water Filter Pitcher, WQA NSF/ANSI Certified, Reduces 99% of Lead, Microplastics, & 30 Contaminants, BPA-Free, Removes Chlorine Taste & Odor, 1 Filter Included, White
Recommended because There is no safe level of lead, and older home plumbing can add it at the tap.
Recommendations are matched to the published findings first; the commercial offer is looked up afterwards and never changes which products qualify. As an Amazon Associate, PurityMap earns from qualifying purchases. Affiliate disclosure.
Frequently asked questions
Who provides tap water in Boston?
BOSTON WATER AND SEWER COMMISSION (MWRA) (PWS ID MA3035000) is the public water system on record for Boston, Massachusetts. Confirm the utility on your water bill before acting on a specific finding.
Where does Boston get its drinking water?
Surface water (primary source of record in EPA SDWIS).
What does the latest Boston water report show?
Across the tracked parameters, PurityMap's current record for Boston shows 1 contaminant measured above its benchmark and 8 within benchmark. Each finding links to its dated public record; a parameter that was never monitored is shown as pending, not as a pass.
Is there lead in Boston's tap water?
In Boston, lead is measured above its action level in the published record. Lead can still enter water from household plumbing after it leaves the system, so a system result cannot rule out an individual tap. A certified home test is the only way to know yours.
Are PFAS "forever chemicals" in Boston's water?
PFAS compounds appear in Boston's published record; the findings show each one's measured state and how it compares to its benchmark.
Sources
Methodology: how we analyze water. Prepared with AI assistance and reviewed by the PurityMap Editorial Team before publication.
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- Systems published
- 1 of 1
- Latest sample on record
- 2024 (PFAS) / LCR (lead)