36 cities covered
Vermont water quality, by city
Vermont cities of 10,000+
| City | Disinfectant | Hardness | Lead | PFAS | Radon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burlington | Chlorine | 3.6 gpg | 1.4 ppb | Not detected | Low |
| South Burlington | Chloramine | 3.9 gpg | Not detected | Not detected | Low |
| Rutland | Chlorine | No data | Not detected | Not detected | Moderate |
| Essex Junction | Chloramine | No data | Not detected | Not detected | Low |
Smaller Vermont towns
32 more covered towns, each with its own page.
- Albany
- Alburgh
- Barre
- Barton
- Bellows Falls
- Cambridge
- Derby Center
- Derby Line
- Enosburg Falls
- Hyde Park
- Jeffersonville
- Johnson
- Ludlow
- Manchester
- Marshfield
- Montpelier
- Morrisville
- Newbury
- Newport
- North Bennington
- North Troy
- Old Bennington
- Orleans
- Poultney
- Saxtons River
- St. Albans
- Swanton
- Vergennes
- Wells River
- Westminster
- Winooski
- Woodstock
What the data shows across Vermont
Chlorine or chloramine
3 of 36 covered cities use chloramine in at least part of the system: South Burlington, Essex Junction and Winooski. Most cheap shower filters barely affect chloramine; look for vitamin C or catalytic carbon media.
Shower filters that handle chloramineHardness
0 of 3 cities with a hardness reading have hard or very hard water. Readings run from 3.6 grains per gallon in Burlington (moderately hard) to 5.9 in Montpelier (moderately hard).
Softener or filter?Lead
One city's utility reported a 90th-percentile lead result of 5 ppb or more: Swanton. Lead comes from service lines and plumbing, so a home test is the reading that counts.
PFAS
EPA's nationwide sampling found no PFAS above the 2024 limits in the water serving covered Vermont cities.
Health-based violations
3 of 36 covered cities' utilities had a health-based EPA violation since 2016: St. Albans, Newport and Vergennes. Each city page lists the contaminants.