Chittenden County Water Quality: 4 Cities Ranked by the Records

Name: Chittenden County Water Quality Data (2026)
Creator: PurityMap
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Chittenden County, Vermont: 4 city reports built from EPA and utility records. A county has many suppliers; each city shows the system that serves it.

Find my system Open on the map Private wells in Chittenden County

Across the county's systems

Highest result for each contaminant

One row per contaminant: the highest result any system in the county reported, against its limit. Open a row for the systems behind it.

Lead (90th percentile)Detected in 1 system of 4 tested15 µg/L federal action level · US EPAHighest1.4 µg/L

BURLINGTON DEPT PUBLIC WORKS WATER DIV1.4 µg/LMonitoring period: 2022–2024
COLCHESTER WATER SYSTEMNot detectedMonitoring period: 2023–2025
ESSEX TOWN WATER SYSTEMNot detectedMonitoring period: 2023–2025
SOUTH BURLINGTON CITY WATER SYSTEMNot detectedMonitoring period: 2025–2027 (still open)

30 substances tested, none detected in any systemShow

Tested in these 3 systems: BURLINGTON DEPT PUBLIC WORKS WATER DIV, ESSEX TOWN WATER SYSTEM, SOUTH BURLINGTON CITY WATER SYSTEM

11-Chloroeicosafluoro-3-oxaundecane-1-sulfonic acid (11Cl-PF3OUdS)
1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorodecane sulfonic acid (8:2 FTS)
1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (4:2 FTS)
1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (6:2 FTS)
4,8-Dioxa-3H-perfluorononanoic acid (ADONA)
9-Chlorohexadecafluoro-3-oxanone-1-sulfonic acid (9Cl-PF3ONS)
Hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA) (GenX chemicals)
Lithium
N-ethyl perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetic acid (NEtFOSAA)
N-methyl perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetic acid (NMeFOSAA)
Nonafluoro-3,6-dioxaheptanoic acid (NFDHA)
Perfluoro (2-ethoxyethane) sulfonic acid (PFEESA)
Perfluoro-3-methoxypropanoic acid (PFMPA)
Perfluoro-4-methoxybutanoic acid (PFMBA)
Perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS)
Perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA)
Perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA)
Perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoA)
Perfluoroheptanesulfonic acid (PFHpS)
Perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA)
Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS)
Perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA)
Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA)
Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS)
Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)
Perfluoropentanesulfonic acid (PFPeS)
Perfluoropentanoic acid (PFPeA)
Perfluorotetradecanoic acid (PFTA)
Perfluorotridecanoic acid (PFTrDA)
Perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnA)

4 cities

Cities ranked by the records

1
South BurlingtonSOUTH BURLINGTON CITY WATER SYSTEM
No PFAS detected
Open city report →
2
ColchesterCOLCHESTER WATER SYSTEM
No PFAS detected
Open city report →
3
Essex JunctionESSEX TOWN WATER SYSTEM
No PFAS detected
Open city report →
4
BurlingtonBURLINGTON DEPT PUBLIC WORKS WATER DIV
No PFAS detectedLead below action level
Open city report →

Showing 4 of 4 cities · scores are system-level, not tap tests

Ranked by the Purity Score of each city's main water system, highest first. Scores belong to water systems; there is no county score. The score is computed only from contaminants measured in the published EPA record, so this ranks the record, not which city's water is safest. How the score works.

PFAS in Chittenden CountyPFAS detected in 0 of 4 cities; none had a sample above a 2024 EPA limit

4.0 ng/L federal MCL · PFOS, ng/LPFAS in Vermont

Lead

0of 4 cities above the 15 µg/L action level

Based on each system's 90th-percentile result. Lead from household plumbing isn't in this record.

Lead in Vermont

Who supplies the county

Largest water systems

BurlingtonBURLINGTON DEPT PUBLIC WORKS WATER DIV · VT0005053
42,000 served
South BurlingtonSOUTH BURLINGTON CITY WATER SYSTEM · VT0005091
19,500 served
ColchesterCOLCHESTER WATER SYSTEM · VT0021810
11,299 served
Essex JunctionESSEX TOWN WATER SYSTEM · VT0005065
9,734 served

Questions

Frequently asked

How does Chittenden County tap water compare across cities?

PurityMap ranks 4 cities in Chittenden County by the Purity Score of each city's main water system, computed only from contaminants measured in the published EPA record. Scores belong to water systems, not to cities. The highest published score is South Burlington's main water system: SOUTH BURLINGTON CITY WATER SYSTEM · PWSID VT0005091 · Purity Score 100 (Excellent) · Confidence: moderate · Assessed at the water-system level. The ranking compares the records, not which city's water is safest, and your own tap can differ with household plumbing.

How many Chittenden County cities had a PFAS sample above a 2024 EPA limit?

None of the 4 Chittenden County city reports had a PFAS sample above a 2024 EPA limit in EPA's UCMR 5 testing. PFAS were detected below the limit in 0.

Is there lead in Chittenden County tap water?

Utilities report lead as a 90th-percentile result from home taps. 1 of 4 Chittenden County cities reported a value above zero, and none was above the 15 µg/L federal action level. Lead usually comes from a building's own pipes and fixtures, so only a test at your tap tells you what you drink.

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