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tapwater
England and Wales average 9.0

Tap water in L17, LiverpoolSafe to drink.Moderately soft.

Supplied by United Utilities. 1,538 samples, 16 substances, latest on 24 December 2024. Everything is inside the legal limit, and nothing comes close to it.

See the filter we recommendSee everything that was tested

9.3 / 10

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

What to do about it

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Households concerned about PFAS and heavy metals

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High-volume under-sink filtration without RO complexity

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Basic chlorine and taste improvement on a budget

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What's in a glass of L17 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 43% of it. 15 of 16 substances used under a quarter of theirs.

0%25%50%75%limitLegal limitCopper: 0.0000104 mg/L, <1% of the 2 mg/L limitCopper<1%Manganese: 0.00045 mg/L, <1% of the 0.05 mg/L limitManganese<1%Chromium: 0.00083 mg/L, 2% of the 0.05 mg/L limitChromium2%Cadmium: 0.00009 mg/L, 2% of the 0.005 mg/L limitCadmium2%Nitrite: 0.0098 mg/L, 2% of the 0.5 mg/L limitNitrite2%Selenium: 0.00085 mg/L, 2% of the 0.04 mg/L limitSelenium2%Iron: 0.007 mg/L, 3% of the 0.2 mg/L limitIron3%Nickel: 0.00077 mg/L, 4% of the 0.02 mg/L limitNickel4%Aluminium: 0.00832 mg/L, 4% of the 0.2 mg/L limitAluminium4%Bromate: 0.00042 mg/L, 4% of the 0.01 mg/L limitBromate4%Nitrate: 2.44 mg/L, 5% of the 50 mg/L limitNitrate5%Turbidity: 0.2 NTU, 5% of the 4 NTU limitTurbidity5%Lead: 0.00055 mg/L, 6% of the 0.01 mg/L limitLead6%Antimony: 0.00031 mg/L, 6% of the 0.005 mg/L limitAntimony6%Ammonia: 0.054 mg/L, 11% of the 0.5 mg/L limitAmmonia11%Trihalomethanes: 0.0429 mg/L, 43% of the 0.1 mg/L limitTrihalomethanes43%
  1. Trihalomethanes43%
  2. Ammonia11%
  3. Antimony6%
  4. Lead6%
  5. Turbidity5%
  6. Nitrate5%
  7. Bromate4%
  8. Aluminium4%
  9. Nickel4%
  10. Iron3%
  11. Selenium2%
  12. Nitrite2%
  13. Cadmium2%
  14. Chromium2%
  15. Manganese<1%
  16. Copper<1%
All 16 results as a table
SubstanceResultLegal limitShare of limit
Turbidity0.2 NTU4 NTU
5%
Aluminium0.00832 mg/L0.2 mg/L
4%
Iron0.007 mg/L0.2 mg/L
3%
Manganese0.00045 mg/L0.05 mg/L
<1%
Nitrate2.44 mg/L50 mg/L
5%
Nitrite0.0098 mg/L0.5 mg/L
2%
Ammonia0.054 mg/L0.5 mg/L
11%
Copper0.0000104 mg/L2 mg/L
<1%
Nickel0.00077 mg/L0.02 mg/L
4%
Lead0.00055 mg/L0.01 mg/L
6%
Trihalomethanes0.0429 mg/L0.1 mg/L
43%
Bromate0.00042 mg/L0.01 mg/L
4%
Cadmium0.00009 mg/L0.005 mg/L
2%
Chromium0.00083 mg/L0.05 mg/L
2%
Antimony0.00031 mg/L0.005 mg/L
6%
Selenium0.00085 mg/L0.04 mg/L
2%

70mg 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 estuary is the Mersey, rated moderate

The Environment Agency rated the Mersey as moderate for ecological health in its 2025 assessment, meaning the estuary is noticeably changed by pollution or engineering. It is held back by insects and other small river life, specific pollutants and algal blooms. 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

37

forever-chemical detections in nearby rivers and groundwater

At 5 sites. The highest was 6:2 FTSA at 0.0076 µg/L, at Eli Lilly Abh No 4 SJ48/105, 6.4 km away, in July 2026. These are river and borehole samples, not tests of your tap water.

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

L17 in short

Tap water in L17 (Liverpool) is supplied by United Utilities in the Liverpool Central zone and scores 9.3 out of 10, against an England and Wales average of 9.0. None of the 16 tested substances came close to a limit. The latest sample is from 24 December 2024.

  • Trihalomethanes is the reading closest to its limit, at 43% of the 0.1 mg/L maximumIt passed with room to spare, and everything else tested sat further below its limit. See every reading
  • 11th cleanest of 21 areas tested in LiverpoolSquarely mid-table for Liverpool, between L6 on 9.5 and L9 on 9.2. Every area in Liverpool
  • PFAS found at 5 monitoring sites within 10 kmThose are river and groundwater samples, not tap water. The highest was 6:2 FTSA about 6.4 km away. What was measured

Next door

L49.3 out of 10 · 71 mg/LL59.4 out of 10 · 71 mg/LL69.5 out of 10 · 71 mg/LL89.3 out of 10 · 63 mg/LL39.4 out of 10 · 68 mg/LL79.5 out of 10 · 63 mg/LL29.3 out of 10 · 68 mg/LL19.3 out of 10 · 68 mg/LL99.2 out of 10 · 89 mg/LL119.2 out of 10 · 91 mg/L

Questions about L17 water

Is L17 tap water safe to drink?

Based on the latest tests, L17 (Liverpool) water scores 9.3/10, which is safe. 0 of 16 tested contaminants exceeded recommended levels. Water is supplied by United Utilities.

What contaminants are in L17 water?

We tested 16 contaminants in L17 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 L17?

L17 (Liverpool) is supplied by United Utilities. You can view their full profile and compliance data on our supplier page.

Is L17 water hard or soft?

Water in L17 (Liverpool) has a hardness of 70 mg/L CaCO3, which is classified as moderately soft. This is a moderate hardness level.

Should I use a water filter in L17?

L17 water scored 9.3/10 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 L17 water?

The tap-water tests we hold for L17 do not include a PFAS result. Environment Agency monitoring found PFAS in 37 river and groundwater samples from 5 sites within 10 km of L17, the highest being 6:2 FTSA at 0.0076 µg/L about 6.4 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 estuary near L17?

The Environment Agency rated the Mersey as moderate for ecological health in its 2025 assessment, meaning the estuary is noticeably changed by pollution or engineering. It is held back by insects and other small river life, specific pollutants and algal blooms. 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 estuary, not of tap water in L17, which is treated before it reaches homes.

Keep reading

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

River and groundwater readings near L17

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
pH7.6 pHNone
Temperature12.8 °CNone
Conductivity768 µS/cmNone
Nitrate4.1 mg/L50 mg/L
Fluoride0.065 mg/L1.5 mg/L
Phosphate0.094 mg/LNone
Dissolved Oxygen6.36 mg/LNone
Zinc0.18 mg/LNone
Nickel0.0012 mg/L0.02 mg/L
Chromium0.000521 mg/L0.05 mg/L
PFAS (total)0.00066 µg/LNone

Get alerts for your area

We'll email you when water quality data changes for L17.

Source: United Utilities 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