Medford Water Dept. (Mwra)
Open for: Lead and Copper Rule. EPA counts treatment-technique violations as health-based: a required protective step was not done. It is not a measurement of contamination.
On record since 1992: 8 violations. 6 treatment lapses · 2 missed or late tests. Most recent began 2023-11-01.
None of them is a measurement of contaminated water.
For this year's test results, ask the utility for its annual Consumer Confidence Report. Every community system must publish one.
More violations on record than 82% of active water systems in Massachusetts. Small systems with no staff chemist often rack up missed-test violations; big utilities rarely do.
The record, year by year
Across Massachusetts, 79% of violations are missed or late tests and 4% are water over a limit.
What you can do
- Lead: Run cold water for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using it for drinking or cooking, especially after the water has been sitting for several hours. Use only cold water for cooking and baby formula. Consider a water filter certified to remove lead (look for NSF/ANSI Standard 53 certification). Have your water tested if you live in an older home.
Lead & copper at the tap
Utilities sample taps in homes most likely to have lead pipes, and report the 90th-percentile result: 9 in 10 homes sampled came in at or below this number. Above the red line (the action level) the utility must act. The action level is not a safe level; EPA's health goal for lead is zero. EPA's file does not date these results, so they are shown highest first.
Lead, 90th percentile 16 results on file · action level 15 ppb
Open now (2)
- 2023-11-01Lead and Copper RuleLead Service Line Replacement (LSLR)Open
- 2018-01-01Lead and Copper RuleFollow-up Or Routine LCR Tap M/ROpen
Every violation on record
- 2023-11-01Lead and Copper RuleLead Service Line Replacement (LSLR)Open
- 2023-07-01Lead and Copper RuleLead Service Line Replacement (LSLR)Back in compliance
- 2018-01-01Lead and Copper RuleFollow-up Or Routine LCR Tap M/ROpen
- 2015-07-01Lead and Copper RuleFollow-up Or Routine LCR Tap M/RBack in compliance
- 1999-01-01Lead and Copper RulePublic EducationBack in compliance
- 1994-01-01Lead and Copper RulePublic EducationBack in compliance
- 1993-01-01Lead and Copper RulePublic EducationBack in compliance
- 1992-01-01Lead and Copper RulePublic EducationBack in compliance
System details
| Population served | 61,700 |
| Service connections | 15,073 |
| Water source | Surface Water Purchased |
| System type | Community Water System |
| Owner | Local Government |
| Status | Active |
| City | Medford |
| EPA ZIP on file | 02155 |
Areas served
- Medford, Middlesex County, 02155
Reading this record
Medford Water Dept. (Mwra) is a community water system that draws from surface water purchased and serves about 61,700 people in Medford, Massachusetts. Everything above comes from the EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), where states report every violation by every public water system.
Four kinds of violation. Only one is a measurement of the water: over the limit means a test came back above a legal maximum (an MCL). A treatment lapse means a required protective step was not done, such as disinfection, filtration, fixing a defect an inspector found, or filing a lead-pipe inventory. A missed or late test means a required test was skipped or never reported. That is the most common kind, and the most misread: it does not mean the water was bad, and it does not mean the water was fine. Notices and reports covers public notices and the annual Consumer Confidence Report.
Status. “Back in compliance” means the state recorded a return to compliance. “Period ended” means the violation's compliance period is over but no return to compliance was ever filed, which is common in older records. EPA's federal copy lags state records by months, so call the utility for anything current.