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Community Water System · PWS MA3031000

Billerica Water Works

Operator location Billerica, Massachusetts - UCMR5 detected 5 PFAS compounds (upper-third PFAS panel (> 4 compounds)) on this PWS; SDWIS lists 52 violations and 42,119 people served.

42,119
People served (this PWS) Larger third of systems
52
EPA violations (this PWS) Middle third of systems
9
Health-based (this PWS) Middle third by health-based share
5 PFAS
UCMR5 (this PWS) Upper third of PFAS-detected systems
Follow published updates (RSS)

Billerica Water Works standing, mid SDWIS violation third

UCMR5 detected 5 PFAS compounds - upper-third PFAS panel (> 4 compounds). Corpus terciles use 29,740 systems serving 500+ (the sitemap cohort). Health-based share 17% is middle-third health share (≤ 23%). UCMR5: upper-third PFAS panel (> 4 compounds). Population rank #1,308 of 29,740 among systems serving 500+.

The verdict

Billerica Water Works lands in the middle third by violation volume (52), large enough for peer comparisons without matching the fleet's heaviest ledgers. Population served is large (42,119; larger served population (> 3,309)), so household exposure scale sits behind the violation mix. Health-based share is 17% (middle-third health share (≤ 23%)). UCMR5 detected 5 PFAS compounds (upper-third PFAS panel (> 4 compounds)).

#1,308 of 29,740
Population · /systems
#42 of 418
Population · MA
52
Total EPA violations on record
17%
Health-based (MCL / treatment failure)

Population ordinals match the sitemap cohort (systems serving 500+, population_served DESC). See methodology · corpus placement.

PFAS Detected

5 PFAS "forever chemicals" detected in testing under EPA's UCMR5 monitoring program.

F
Water Safety Score
34/100
Billerica Water Works

Based on EPA SDWIS violation history and UCMR5 PFAS testing only, not water taste, odor, infrastructure age, or contaminants outside the federally tracked set.

Health-based violations F
9
EPA SDWIS health-based violations on record (MCL, MRDL, treatment technique)
Monitoring & reporting violations F
43
Non-health SDWIS violations (monitoring, reporting, and other compliance)
PFAS contamination C-
0.0080 µg/L
Highest PFAS compound level detected in UCMR5 testing

System Details

System Type
Community
Owner Type
Local
Connections
13,758
County
Middlesex
School/Daycare
No
MCL Violations
9
Monitoring Violations
27
Treatment Tech Violations
0

Violation History

Contaminant violations recorded by EPA.

Contaminant Category Count Latest
Bromate MCL 5 2023
Radium-228 MR 2 2014
Coliform (TCR) MCL 2 1995
TTHM MCL 2 1998
o-Dichlorobenzene MR 1 2007
1,1,1-Trichloroethane MR 1 2007
Vinyl chloride MR 1 2007
trans-1,2-Dichloroethylene MR 1 2007
1,2-Dichloropropane MR 1 2007
Ethylbenzene MR 1 2007
Styrene MR 1 2007
TTHM MR 1 2007
Toluene MR 1 2007
Xylenes, Total MR 1 2007
DICHLOROMETHANE MR 1 2007
Nitrate MR 1 2007
1,1-Dichloroethylene MR 1 2007
1,2-Dichloroethane MR 1 2007
Trichloroethylene MR 1 2007
Nitrite MR 1 2007
CHLOROBENZENE MR 1 2007
Carbon tetrachloride MR 1 2007
p-Dichlorobenzene MR 1 2007
cis-1,2-Dichloroethylene MR 1 2007
Tetrachloroethylene MR 1 2007
Benzene MR 1 2007
1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene MR 1 2007
1,1,2-Trichloroethane MR 1 2007
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) MR 1 2007

Violation Count vs. the National Corpus

Billerica Water Works has 52 recorded EPA violations, 57% of the 29,740 public water systems serving 500+ people nationwide carry fewer, and 42% carry more. 17% of this system's own violations are health-based (9 of 52), and it ranks #1,308 of 29,740 by population served among that same cohort.

EPA violations vs. the national water-system corpus

Public water systems serving 500+ people (EPA SDWIS)

52 Around the middle fewer violations than 42% of 29,740 water systems

the national water-system corpus, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more water systems. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source EPA SDWIS · 2026-05-15

How many violations vs. how serious, among peer systems

Billerica Water Works plotted against 29 peer public water systems (500+ people served), by total violation count (x) and the share of those violations that are health-based (y). The crosshair sits at this sample's own median on each axis. A high violation count does not automatically mean a serious record: most monitoring and reporting violations are minor, not health-based.

Violation volume vs. health-based share

30 public water systems (500+ people served), EPA SDWIS current release. 2×2 strategic matrix plotting 30 entities by Total violations (X) and Health-based share (Y), with a crosshair dividing the plot into four quadrants. Frequent and seriousRare but seriousFrequent, mostly paperworkClean record 0200400600 0%20%40%60%80%100% Total violations Health-based share Violation volume vs. health-based share Miccosukee Service Plaza-0, 0%Brazoria - Fort Bend Counties MUD 3-0, 0%Tanglewilde Thompson Place 600-2, 0%Center Water Co-5, 0%Montgomery Co RWD 12-7, 29%Spring Mills Elem School/Hvs-9, 0%Irvin Water District #6-11, 27%Great Bend Industrial Park-14, 0%Nooksack Valley Water Association-16, 31%Glen Park Village-19, 0%Camp Is-Sho-Da-22, 0%Kipling Oaks 1-25, 16%McLouth, City Of-29, 17%Hamilton-33, 0%Pine Valley Plantation-37, 24%Lake Gibson Estates-42, 2%Ticonderoga WD-47, 26%Town of Welaka-54, 0%Township of Blairstown Dpw-61, 0%McIntosh Water & Fire Pro Authority-71, 0%Sunset Ridge Water District-82, 15%South Deerfield Water Supply District-96, 16%Clarkdale Municipal Water System-114, 0%Orange Water Dept-136, 14%Mount Pleasant Water Sys #1-167, 11%Benson Culinary Improvement District-212, 1%Eureka Water Association-273, 0%City of Ballinger-372, 85%Conemaugh Twp Muni Auth-567, 1%Billerica Water Works-52, 17%
30 public water systems (500+ people served), EPA SDWIS current release.

PFAS Testing Results (UCMR5)

Results from EPA's Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule. 12 of 116 samples detected PFAS.

Contaminant Date Result MRL Status
8:2 FTS 8/7/2025 <5.00 ppt 5.00 ppt Not Detected
PFMPA 8/7/2025 <4.00 ppt 4.00 ppt Not Detected
PFPeA 8/7/2025 8.00 ppt 3.00 ppt Detected
PFHpS 8/7/2025 <3.00 ppt 3.00 ppt Not Detected
PFPeS 8/7/2025 <4.00 ppt 4.00 ppt Not Detected
PFEESA 8/7/2025 <3.00 ppt 3.00 ppt Not Detected
4:2 FTS 8/7/2025 <3.00 ppt 3.00 ppt Not Detected
9Cl-PF3ONS 8/7/2025 <2.00 ppt 2.00 ppt Not Detected
NFDHA 8/7/2025 <20.00 ppt 20.00 ppt Not Detected
PFOS 8/7/2025 <4.00 ppt 4.00 ppt Not Detected
PFTA 8/7/2025 <8.00 ppt 8.00 ppt Not Detected
PFTrDA 8/7/2025 <7.00 ppt 7.00 ppt Not Detected
NEtFOSAA 8/7/2025 <5.00 ppt 5.00 ppt Not Detected
NMeFOSAA 8/7/2025 <6.00 ppt 6.00 ppt Not Detected
PFBS 8/7/2025 3.10 ppt 3.00 ppt Detected
PFHpA 8/7/2025 <3.00 ppt 3.00 ppt Not Detected
HFPO-DA 8/7/2025 <5.00 ppt 5.00 ppt Not Detected
PFNA 8/7/2025 <4.00 ppt 4.00 ppt Not Detected
6:2 FTS 8/7/2025 <5.00 ppt 5.00 ppt Not Detected
PFOA 8/7/2025 5.50 ppt 4.00 ppt Detected
PFDA 8/7/2025 <3.00 ppt 3.00 ppt Not Detected
PFDoA 8/7/2025 <3.00 ppt 3.00 ppt Not Detected
PFHxA 8/7/2025 6.10 ppt 3.00 ppt Detected
PFUnA 8/7/2025 <2.00 ppt 2.00 ppt Not Detected
11Cl-PF3OUdS 8/7/2025 <5.00 ppt 5.00 ppt Not Detected
ADONA 8/7/2025 <3.00 ppt 3.00 ppt Not Detected
PFBA 8/7/2025 5.50 ppt 5.00 ppt Detected
PFMBA 8/7/2025 <3.00 ppt 3.00 ppt Not Detected
PFHxS 8/7/2025 <3.00 ppt 3.00 ppt Not Detected
NMeFOSAA 5/8/2025 <6.00 ppt 6.00 ppt Not Detected
PFEESA 5/8/2025 <3.00 ppt 3.00 ppt Not Detected
NFDHA 5/8/2025 <20.00 ppt 20.00 ppt Not Detected
PFHpS 5/8/2025 <3.00 ppt 3.00 ppt Not Detected
PFPeS 5/8/2025 <4.00 ppt 4.00 ppt Not Detected
NEtFOSAA 5/8/2025 <5.00 ppt 5.00 ppt Not Detected
PFMBA 5/8/2025 <3.00 ppt 3.00 ppt Not Detected
PFTrDA 5/8/2025 <7.00 ppt 7.00 ppt Not Detected
PFOA 5/8/2025 <4.00 ppt 4.00 ppt Not Detected
PFTA 5/8/2025 <8.00 ppt 8.00 ppt Not Detected
PFPeA 5/8/2025 <3.00 ppt 3.00 ppt Not Detected
11Cl-PF3OUdS 5/8/2025 <5.00 ppt 5.00 ppt Not Detected
PFUnA 5/8/2025 <2.00 ppt 2.00 ppt Not Detected
PFHxA 5/8/2025 <3.00 ppt 3.00 ppt Not Detected
PFDA 5/8/2025 <3.00 ppt 3.00 ppt Not Detected
PFOS 5/8/2025 <4.00 ppt 4.00 ppt Not Detected
PFNA 5/8/2025 <4.00 ppt 4.00 ppt Not Detected
PFHxS 5/8/2025 <3.00 ppt 3.00 ppt Not Detected
4:2 FTS 5/8/2025 <3.00 ppt 3.00 ppt Not Detected
PFBS 5/8/2025 <3.00 ppt 3.00 ppt Not Detected
9Cl-PF3ONS 5/8/2025 <2.00 ppt 2.00 ppt Not Detected

UCMR5 PFAS record for Billerica Water Works

Open EPA SDWIS federal reports for PWS MA3031000 to cross-check UCMR5 detections and violation codes; state primacy agencies enforce the Safe Drinking Water Act locally.

Sources: EPA SDWIS · MassDEP, Drinking Water Program

Nationwide peers

52 violations · 42,119 served: nearest cross-state SDWIS matches.

Cross-state systems near this violation count

Nearest cross-state community systems (500+ served) by total SDWIS violations on record.

4 peers

Cross-state systems with similar served population

Nearest cross-state systems by EPA SDWIS population_served (same 500+ sitemap gate).

4 peers

What to do with Billerica Water Works

Use this system's EPA-reported record as a starting filter, not a final verdict.

EPA SDWIS and UCMR5 figures are informational only, not a substitute for a certified lab test of your own tap water.

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

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