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State profile · EPA SDWIS + UCMR5

Vermont Drinking Water Quality

1,357 public water systems serve 646,999 people across Vermont, with every Safe Drinking Water Act violation and UCMR5 PFAS result on record.

1,357
Water systems
153,729
Total violations
93%
Systems w/ a violation
8.1%
PFAS detection rate

The verdict

Across Vermont, 1,262 of 1,357 water systems (93.0%) carry at least one EPA violation, and 3 of 37 UCMR5-tested systems show PFAS.

153,729
Total EPA violations on record
11%
Health-based (MCL / treatment)
93.0%
Systems with ≥1 violation
8.1%
UCMR5 PFAS detection rate
Water Systems
1,357
Total Violations
153,729
Violation Rate
93%
PFAS Detection
8.1%
3 of 37 tested

Violation Composition

How Vermont's 153,729 violations break down by type, per EPA SDWIS classification.

Health-based (16,917) Monitoring/Reporting (136,812)
Metric Value Share
Public water systems1,357-
Population served646,999-
Total violations153,729100%
Health-based violations16,91711.0%
Systems with violations1,26293.0%
PFAS detection rate3 of 378.1%

Health-based violations indicate the contaminant exceeded an EPA Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) or treatment-technique requirement. Monitoring/reporting violations indicate procedural issues (missed tests, late reports) - not necessarily a contamination event.

Largest Water Systems

Burlington Dept Public Works Water Div
Burlington, VT · 42,000 served
13 violations
South Burlington City Water System
South Burlington, VT · 19,500 served
2 violations
Rutland City Water Dept
Proctor, VT · 18,500 served
139 violations
Barre City Water System
Barre, VT · 14,000 served
48 violations
Bennington Water Dept
Bennington, VT · 13,250 served
148 violations
Brattleboro Water Dept
Brattleboro, VT · 12,200 served
57 violations
Colchester Water System
South Burlington, VT · 11,299 served
2 violations
St Albans Water Dept
St Albans, VT · 10,200 served
66 violations
Springfield Water Dept
Springfield, VT · 9,800 served
13 violations
Essex Town Water System
Essex Junction, VT · 9,734 served
2 violations
Essex Jct Water Dept
Essex Junction, VT · 9,500 served
2 violations
Middlebury Water Dept
Middlebury, VT · 9,379 served
23 violations
Montpelier Water System
Montpelier, VT · 8,912 served
42 violations
Winooski Water Dept
Winooski, VT · 8,500 served
2 violations
Colchester Fire District 2
Colchester, VT · 8,300 served
46 violations
Milton Water Dept
Milton, VT · 8,000 served
12 violations
Hartford Water Dept
White River Jct, VT · 7,600 served
10 violations
Williston Water Dept
Williston, VT · 7,259 served
2 violations
Jay Peak Water System
Jay, VT · 6,740 served
289 violations
Winhall Stratton F D 1
Stratton Mountain, VT · 6,200 served
101 violations

Most Violations

#1 Mountain Park West Dover
1,410
#2 Burke Fire District 1 East Burke
1,134
#3 Berlin Water Co Inc Montpelier
1,009
#4 Mountain Green Condominium Woodstock
959
#5 Union House Nursing Home Barton
952
#6 Glen Run Condominium West Dover
937
#7 Rhodeside Acres Milton
930
#8 Chimney Hill Whitingham
907
#9 Charlotte Central School Charlotte
906
#10 Mount Snow Village Association West Dover
888
#11 Edgemont Condominiums Killington
872
#12 Elmore Water District Elmore
867
#13 Hemlock Ridge Condominium Bristol
794
#14 Fairfax Heights Water Co Fairfax
774
#15 Trail Creek Condominium Killington
771

Counties in Vermont

Chittenden
96 systems · 150,283 served · 8,045 violations
Rutland
172 systems · 71,079 served · 26,092 violations
Windsor
165 systems · 68,991 served · 15,601 violations
Windham
199 systems · 68,946 served · 22,614 violations
Washington
127 systems · 61,446 served · 15,111 violations
Bennington
124 systems · 44,748 served · 11,101 violations
Franklin
82 systems · 36,880 served · 7,456 violations
Addison
71 systems · 32,619 served · 8,234 violations
Orleans
74 systems · 26,684 served · 9,369 violations
Lamoille
69 systems · 24,007 served · 7,946 violations
Caledonia
64 systems · 23,503 served · 9,284 violations
Orange
70 systems · 20,735 served · 8,039 violations
Grand Isle
26 systems · 12,008 served · 2,478 violations
Essex
18 systems · 5,070 served · 2,359 violations
View all 1,357 systems in Vermont →

Drinking Water Guides

Is Your Tap Water Safe?

How to interpret water quality reports and know when to take action.
PFAS in Drinking Water

What forever chemicals are, EPA testing results, and 2024 standards.
Check Your Water System

Step-by-step guide to finding and understanding your local water data.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many water systems are in Vermont? ▼
Vermont has 1,357 public water systems serving approximately 646,999 people. These include community water systems, non-transient non-community systems, and transient non-community systems regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
How many drinking water violations are in Vermont? ▼
Vermont has 153,729 total drinking water violations on record, with 16,917 classified as health-based violations. 93.0% of water systems in the state have at least one violation.
Has PFAS been found in Vermont drinking water? ▼
Of 37 water systems tested for PFAS in Vermont, 3 had PFAS detected, a 8.1% detection rate. PFAS are persistent "forever chemicals" that do not break down in the environment.
What is the violation rate for Vermont water systems? ▼
Vermont's violation rate is 93%. This measures the percentage of public water systems that have at least one recorded violation in the EPA SDWIS database, including both health-based and monitoring/reporting violations.
Where does this Vermont water data come from? ▼
All drinking water data comes from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) and the UCMR5 PFAS monitoring program. SDWIS is the federal database that tracks compliance for all public water systems regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

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.

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

Related

All states → | Most violations → | Compare counties →
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.