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tapwater
England and Wales average 9.0

Tap water in BD16, BradfordSafe to drink.Moderately soft.

Supplied by Yorkshire Water. 1,088 samples, 25 substances, latest on 16 September 2026. Everything is inside the legal limit, and nothing comes close to it.

9.7 / 10

The tank is as full as the score. The specks are the minerals that make water hard.

What to do about it

ZeroWater 12-Cup Ready-Pour

ZeroWater 12-Cup Ready-Pour

£40typical price

Households concerned about PFAS and heavy metals

Waterdrop 10UA Under Sink

Waterdrop 10UA Under Sink

£70typical price

High-volume under-sink filtration without RO complexity

BRITA Marella XL + MAXTRA PRO

BRITA Marella XL + MAXTRA PRO

£25typical price

Basic chlorine and taste improvement on a budget

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What's in a glass of BD16 water

Every bubble is a substance the lab measured. The higher it floats, the closer it came to its legal limit, the dashed line at the top.

Trihalomethanes came closest to a limit, at 19% of it. 20 of 20 substances used under a quarter of theirs.

0%25%50%75%limitLegal limitNitrite: 0 mg/L, 0% of the 0.5 mg/L limitNitrite0%Copper: 0.00385 mg/L, <1% of the 2 mg/L limitCopper<1%Chromium: 0.00019 mg/L, <1% of the 0.05 mg/L limitChromium<1%Cadmium: 0.000031 mg/L, <1% of the 0.005 mg/L limitCadmium<1%Boron: 0.0064 mg/L, <1% of the 1 mg/L limitBoron<1%Antimony: 0.000035 mg/L, <1% of the 0.005 mg/L limitAntimony<1%Selenium: 0.00043 mg/L, 1% of the 0.04 mg/L limitSelenium1%Arsenic: 0.00011 mg/L, 1% of the 0.01 mg/L limitArsenic1%Lead: 0.00013 mg/L, 1% of the 0.01 mg/L limitLead1%Manganese: 0.00101 mg/L, 2% of the 0.05 mg/L limitManganese2%Fluoride: 0.04 mg/L, 3% of the 1.5 mg/L limitFluoride3%Turbidity: 0.12 NTU, 3% of the 4 NTU limitTurbidity3%Bromate: 0.0003 mg/L, 3% of the 0.01 mg/L limitBromate3%Iron: 0.00629 mg/L, 3% of the 0.2 mg/L limitIron3%Nickel: 0.00064 mg/L, 3% of the 0.02 mg/L limitNickel3%Mercury: 0.00004 mg/L, 4% of the 0.001 mg/L limitMercury4%Aluminium: 0.0111 mg/L, 6% of the 0.2 mg/L limitAluminium6%Nitrate: 3.73 mg/L, 7% of the 50 mg/L limitNitrate7%Colour: 3 mg/L Pt/Co, 15% of the 20 mg/L Pt/Co limitColour15%Trihalomethanes: 0.0188 mg/L, 19% of the 0.1 mg/L limitTrihalomethanes19%
  1. Trihalomethanes19%
  2. Colour15%
  3. Nitrate7%
  4. Aluminium6%
  5. Mercury4%
  6. Nickel3%
  7. Iron3%
  8. Turbidity3%
  9. Bromate3%
  10. Fluoride3%
  11. Manganese2%
  12. Lead1%
  13. Arsenic1%
  14. Selenium1%
  15. Antimony<1%
  16. Boron<1%
  17. Cadmium<1%
  18. Chromium<1%
  19. Copper<1%
  20. Nitrite0%
  • E. coli none found
  • Coliform Bacteria none found
  • Phosphate 0.995 mg/L
  • Conductivity 127 µS/cm
All 25 results as a table
SubstanceResultLegal limitShare of limit
E. coli0 count/100mlMust be zeroNone found
Coliform Bacteria0 count/100mlMust be zeroNone found
Phosphate0.995 mg/LNo legal limit–
Iron0.00629 mg/L0.2 mg/L
3%
Aluminium0.0111 mg/L0.2 mg/L
6%
Manganese0.00101 mg/L0.05 mg/L
2%
Turbidity0.12 NTU4 NTU
3%
Colour3 mg/L Pt/Co20 mg/L Pt/Co
15%
Conductivity127 µS/cmNo legal limit–
Boron0.0064 mg/L1 mg/L
<1%
Nickel0.00064 mg/L0.02 mg/L
3%
Fluoride0.04 mg/L1.5 mg/L
3%
Trihalomethanes0.0188 mg/L0.1 mg/L
19%
Antimony0.000035 mg/L0.005 mg/L
<1%
Copper0.00385 mg/L2 mg/L
<1%
Nitrite0 mg/L0.5 mg/L
<1%
Nitrate3.73 mg/L50 mg/L
7%
Chromium0.00019 mg/L0.05 mg/L
<1%
Mercury0.00004 mg/L0.001 mg/L
4%
Selenium0.00043 mg/L0.04 mg/L
1%
Bromate0.0003 mg/L0.01 mg/L
3%
Arsenic0.00011 mg/L0.01 mg/L
1%
Lead0.00013 mg/L0.01 mg/L
1%
Cadmium0.000031 mg/L0.005 mg/L
<1%
Hardness (as CaCO3)48.7 mg/LNo legal limit–

69mg of limescale minerals in every litre

Soft water. Kind to kettles, boilers and skin

You will not need a softener here, and you will use less soap and detergent than most of England.

Soft400 mg/L
Outside your tap

Your river is the Aire (R Worth to Gill Beck), rated moderate

The Environment Agency rated the Aire (R Worth to Gill Beck) as moderate for ecological health in its 2025 assessment, meaning the river is noticeably changed by pollution or engineering. It is held back by fish and phosphate. It fails the chemical test, as every river, estuary and stretch of coast in England does, because of long-lasting pollutants such as mercury, PFOS (a forever chemical) and old flame retardants.

None of this is a test of your tap water. Environment Agency record · River health across England

Within 10 km

70

forever-chemical detections in nearby rivers and groundwater

At 4 sites. The highest was PFOA at 0.012 µg/L, at RSN0204 Pitty Beck Us Leaventhorpe Lane, 6.3 km away, in January 2024. These are river and borehole samples, not tests of your tap water.

Every PFAS sample around Bradford · Which filters remove PFAS · PFAS explained

BD16 in short

Tap water in BD16 (Bradford) is supplied by Yorkshire Water in the Bradford Central zone and scores 9.7 out of 10, against an England and Wales average of 9.0. None of the 25 tested substances came close to a limit. The latest sample is from 16 September 2026.

  • The cleanest tap water of the 21 areas tested in BradfordBD16 scores 9.7 out of 10, ahead of BD21 in second place on 9.7. Every area in Bradford
  • 0.7 points above the national average of 9Cleaner than the typical tested district in the UK. Compare every area
  • PFAS found at 4 monitoring sites within 10 kmThose are river and groundwater samples, not tap water. The highest was PFOA about 6.3 km away. What was measured

Questions about BD16 water

Is BD16 tap water safe to drink?

Based on the latest tests, BD16 (Bradford) water scores 9.7/10, which is safe. 0 of 25 tested contaminants exceeded recommended levels. Water is supplied by Yorkshire Water.

What contaminants are in BD16 water?

We tested 25 contaminants in BD16 water. None exceeded recommended safe levels. PFAS (forever chemicals) were also measured in rivers and groundwater within 10 km, though not in the tap-water tests themselves.

Who supplies water in BD16?

BD16 (Bradford) is supplied by Yorkshire Water. You can view their full profile and compliance data on our supplier page.

Is BD16 water hard or soft?

Water in BD16 (Bradford) has a hardness of 69 mg/L CaCO3, which is classified as moderately soft. This is a moderate hardness level.

Should I use a water filter in BD16?

BD16 water scored 9.7/10 with no contaminants above recommended levels. A filter is optional but can improve taste, especially if you notice a chlorine flavour. See our filter recommendations for your area.

Are there PFAS forever chemicals in BD16 water?

The tap-water tests we hold for BD16 do not include a PFAS result. Environment Agency monitoring found PFAS in 70 river and groundwater samples from 4 sites within 10 km of BD16, the highest being PFOA at 0.012 µg/L about 6.3 km away. These are environmental samples, not tests of tap water. The UK currently has no legal limit for PFAS in drinking water; the Drinking Water Inspectorate uses a 0.1 µg/L guideline for individual compounds. Reverse osmosis filters can reduce PFAS levels.

How clean is the river near BD16?

The Environment Agency rated the Aire (R Worth to Gill Beck) as moderate for ecological health in its 2025 assessment, meaning the river is noticeably changed by pollution or engineering. It is held back by fish and phosphate. It fails the chemical test, as every river, estuary and stretch of coast in England does, because of long-lasting pollutants such as mercury, PFOS (a forever chemical) and old flame retardants. This is a rating of the river, not of tap water in BD16, which is treated before it reaches homes.

Keep reading

PFAS explainedHow to test your waterBest water filtersFilter shower headsWater testing kitsAll of BradfordUK water rankingsWater hardness checkerWater hardness map

River and groundwater readings near BD16

Environment Agency samples from rivers, groundwater and reservoirs nearby. Not your tap water. For scale they are shown against drinking water limits; rivers are judged against much stricter environmental standards, and on those every river in England fails for chemicals.

SubstanceReadingDrinking water limit
pH7.85 pHNone
Temperature7.4 °CNone
Conductivity250 µS/cmNone
Nitrate2.5 mg/L50 mg/L
Nitrite0.009 mg/L0.5 mg/L
Phosphate0.047 mg/LNone
Dissolved Oxygen12.4 mg/LNone
Ammonia0.033 mg/L0.5 mg/L
Copper0.00446 mg/L2 mg/L
Zinc0.0728 mg/LNone
Hardness (as CaCO3)49.4 mg/LNone

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We'll email you when water quality data changes for BD16.

Source: Yorkshire Water test results, published through the Stream Water Data Portal; rivers and PFAS from the Environment Agency. Page updated . How we score · Where the data comes from