PlainWater
Counties → Massachusetts

Worcester County, Massachusetts

Water Systems
345
Population Served
773,172
Total Violations
23,751
2,339 health-based
PFAS Detected
23
of 44 tested

Violation Analysis

95.7%
Systems with Violations
68.8
Avg Violations per System
9.8%
Health-Based Violations

Water Source Types

SW
28 systems (8%)
GW
22 systems (6%)

PFAS Contamination

44
Systems Tested
23
PFAS Detected
52.3%
Detection Rate

PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are persistent chemicals found in drinking water. The EPA has set enforceable limits for several PFAS compounds under UCMR5 monitoring.

Compliance Snapshot

Worcester Massachusetts water systems by violation status, EPA SDWIS records.

No violations on record (0) One or more violations (50)

Violation history is cumulative, many flagged systems have already returned to compliance. Detail pages show per-system context.

Water Systems

System Name Population Violations PFAS
Worcester Dpwp, Water Supply Division 206,518 47 Detected
Fitchburg Dpw Division of Water Supply 41,946 51 Detected
Leominster Water Division 41,683 345 Detected
Shrewsbury Water Department 38,325 25 Detected
Milford Water Department 30,379 108 Detected
Westborough Water Department 21,567 147 Detected
Gardner Water Department 21,287 100 Clean
Southbridge Water Department 19,180 24 Detected
Holden Water Division, Dpw 17,951 123 Detected
Webster Water Department 17,776 171 Detected
Clinton Water Dept 15,530 53 Clean
Northborough Water Department (Mwra) 13,535 432 Clean
Auburn Water District 12,255 503 Detected
Uxbridge Dpw, Water Division 11,525 55 Detected
Ash/Win Joint Water Authority 11,394 1 Clean
Aquarion Water Company, Millbury 11,326 40 Detected
Grafton Water District 10,925 78 Detected
Southborough Dpw Water Division (Mwra) 10,514 17 Clean
Athol Dpw Water Division 10,418 19 Clean
Blackstone Water Department 9,868 139 Detected
Whitinsville Water Company 7,933 38 Clean
Northbridge Water Division 7,889 23 Clean
Aquarion Water Company Oxford 7,343 10 Detected
Lunenburg Water District 7,145 28 Detected
West Boylston Water District 7,132 163 Detected
Spencer Water Department 7,037 27 Clean
Sterling Water Department 6,754 183 Detected
Templeton Munic. Light and Water Plant 6,152 215 Detected
Hopedale Water Department 6,017 68 Detected
Lancaster Water Department 6,000 49 Clean
Winchendon Water Department 5,706 83 Clean
Rutland Water Department 5,605 65 Clean
Dudley Water Department 5,515 306 Clean
Sturbridge Water Department 4,567 43 Clean
Upton Dpw Water/Wastewater Division 4,420 169 Clean
Douglas Water Department 4,400 64 Clean
Paxton Water Department 4,300 49 Detected
Barre Water Department 4,098 217 Clean
North Brookfield Water Department 3,903 78 Clean
Westminster Department of Public Works 3,741 34 Clean
Cherry Valley/ Rochdale Water District 3,696 227 Detected
Ashburnham Water Department 3,680 214 Clean
Boylston Water District 3,343 140 Detected
South Grafton Water District 3,262 45 -
Leicester Water Supply District 3,200 184 -
Pilot Travel Center 3,000 72 -
Wilkinsonville Water District 2,773 145 -
Wachusett Mountain Ski Area 2,500 76 -
West Brookfield Water Department 2,477 58 -
Warren Water District 2,289 28 -

Other Counties in Massachusetts

Suffolk County
8 systems · 3,456,243 served · 111 violations
Middlesex County
204 systems · 1,623,176 served · 16,575 violations
Essex County
67 systems · 908,499 served · 3,080 violations
Norfolk County
57 systems · 842,114 served · 2,645 violations
Bristol County
133 systems · 673,471 served · 3,611 violations
Barnstable County
127 systems · 628,756 served · 2,953 violations

Drinking Water Guides

Frequently Asked Questions

How many water violations are in Worcester County? ▼
Worcester County has 23,751 total drinking water violations across 345 water systems, of which 2,339 are health-based violations. 95.7% of systems have at least one violation.
How many people get water from Worcester County systems? ▼
Water systems in Worcester County serve approximately 773,172 people through 345 public water systems.
Has PFAS been detected in Worcester County water? ▼
Of 44 water systems tested for PFAS in Worcester County, 23 had PFAS detected (52.3% detection rate).
What types of water sources supply Worcester County? ▼
Water systems in Worcester County use SW (28 systems), GW (22 systems) as their primary water sources.
Are health-based violations serious? ▼
Health-based violations indicate that drinking water exceeded Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) set by the EPA or failed treatment technique requirements. 9.8% of Worcester County's violations are health-based. Not all violations indicate immediate health risk, but they require corrective action.
Data Sources & Methodology

Drinking water violation data from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS). PFAS testing data from the UCMR5 monitoring program. SDWIS tracks all public water systems regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Violations are categorized as health-based (Maximum Contaminant Level exceedances, treatment technique failures) or monitoring/reporting violations. Not all violations indicate an immediate health risk.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Data sourced from EPA SDWIS and UCMR5 PFAS monitoring data. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainWater Editorial

Every figure on PlainWater is rendered directly from EPA SDWIS drinking-water data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on EPA SDWIS data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.