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tapwater
England and Wales average 9.0

Tap water in NE9, GatesheadSafe to drink.Slightly hard.

Supplied by Northumbrian Water. 5,653 samples, 20 substances, latest on 19 December 2025. Everything is inside the legal limit, and nothing comes close to it.

See the filter we recommendSee everything that was tested

9.4 / 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 NE9 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.

Fluoride came closest to a limit, at 42% of it. 17 of 18 substances used under a quarter of theirs.

0%25%50%75%limitLegal limitCopper: 0.0014 mg/L, <1% of the 2 mg/L limitCopper<1%Cadmium: 0.000018 mg/L, <1% of the 0.005 mg/L limitCadmium<1%Nitrite: 0.0061 mg/L, 1% of the 0.5 mg/L limitNitrite1%Manganese: 0.00066 mg/L, 1% of the 0.05 mg/L limitManganese1%Boron: 0.014 mg/L, 1% of the 1 mg/L limitBoron1%Chromium: 0.00071 mg/L, 1% of the 0.05 mg/L limitChromium1%Arsenic: 0.00019 mg/L, 2% of the 0.01 mg/L limitArsenic2%Selenium: 0.00083 mg/L, 2% of the 0.04 mg/L limitSelenium2%Iron: 0.0052 mg/L, 3% of the 0.2 mg/L limitIron3%Antimony: 0.00016 mg/L, 3% of the 0.005 mg/L limitAntimony3%Nitrate: 2.1 mg/L, 4% of the 50 mg/L limitNitrate4%Nickel: 0.00087 mg/L, 4% of the 0.02 mg/L limitNickel4%Bromate: 0.0005 mg/L, 5% of the 0.01 mg/L limitBromate5%Turbidity: 0.24 NTU, 6% of the 4 NTU limitTurbidity6%Lead: 0.00063 mg/L, 6% of the 0.01 mg/L limitLead6%Colour: 1.9 mg/L Pt/Co, 10% of the 20 mg/L Pt/Co limitColour10%Aluminium: 0.019 mg/L, 9% of the 0.2 mg/L limitAluminium9%Fluoride: 0.63 mg/L, 42% of the 1.5 mg/L limitFluoride42%
  1. Fluoride42%
  2. Colour10%
  3. Aluminium9%
  4. Lead6%
  5. Turbidity6%
  6. Bromate5%
  7. Nickel4%
  8. Nitrate4%
  9. Antimony3%
  10. Iron3%
  11. Selenium2%
  12. Arsenic2%
  13. Chromium1%
  14. Boron1%
  15. Manganese1%
  16. Nitrite1%
  17. Cadmium<1%
  18. Copper<1%
  • Conductivity 400 µS/cm
  • pH 7.9 pH
All 20 results as a table
SubstanceResultLegal limitShare of limit
Conductivity400 µS/cmNo legal limit–
Colour1.9 mg/L Pt/Co20 mg/L Pt/Co
10%
Aluminium0.019 mg/L0.2 mg/L
9%
Manganese0.00066 mg/L0.05 mg/L
1%
Turbidity0.24 NTU4 NTU
6%
Iron0.0052 mg/L0.2 mg/L
3%
pH7.9 pHNo legal limit–
Nitrite0.0061 mg/L0.5 mg/L
1%
Lead0.00063 mg/L0.01 mg/L
6%
Nickel0.00087 mg/L0.02 mg/L
4%
Arsenic0.00019 mg/L0.01 mg/L
2%
Antimony0.00016 mg/L0.005 mg/L
3%
Chromium0.00071 mg/L0.05 mg/L
1%
Cadmium0.000018 mg/L0.005 mg/L
<1%
Bromate0.0005 mg/L0.01 mg/L
5%
Nitrate2.1 mg/L50 mg/L
4%
Selenium0.00083 mg/L0.04 mg/L
2%
Fluoride0.63 mg/L1.5 mg/L
42%
Copper0.0014 mg/L2 mg/L
<1%
Boron0.014 mg/L1 mg/L
1%

160mg of limescale minerals in every litre

Middling hardness. Some scale, slowly

Below the point where a softener pays for itself. Descaling the kettle now and then is all most homes need.

Soft400 mg/L
Outside your tap

Your river is the Team from Source to Tyne, rated moderate

The Environment Agency rated the Team from Source to Tyne 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, insects and other small river life 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

129

forever-chemical detections in nearby rivers and groundwater

At 5 sites. The highest was 6:2 FTSA at 0.029 µg/L, at Don at Jarrow Cemetery, 8.0 km away, in January 2026. These are river and borehole samples, not tests of your tap water.

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

NE9 in short

Tap water in NE9 (Gateshead) is supplied by Northumbrian Water in the Gateshead Central zone and scores 9.4 out of 10, against an England and Wales average of 9.0. None of the 20 tested substances came close to a limit. The latest sample is from 19 December 2025.

  • The lowest score of the 9 areas tested in GatesheadNE9 scores 9.4 out of 10. The best in Gateshead, NE10, scores 9.7.
  • Fluoride is the reading closest to its limit, at 42% of the 1.5 mg/L maximumIt passed with room to spare, and everything else tested sat further below its limit. See every reading
  • PFAS found at 5 monitoring sites within 10 kmThose are river and groundwater samples, not tap water. The highest was 6:2 FTSA about 8 km away. What was measured

Next door

NE119.7 out of 10 · 153 mg/LNE89.5 out of 10 · 180 mg/LNE109.7 out of 10 · 180 mg/LNE219.5 out of 10 · 78 mg/LNE409.4 out of 10 · 193 mg/LNE399.4 out of 10 · 78 mg/LNE169.7 out of 10 · 153 mg/LNE179.7 out of 10 · 90 mg/LNE69.2 out of 10 · 145 mg/LNE19.4 out of 10 · 193 mg/L

Questions about NE9 water

Is NE9 tap water safe to drink?

Based on the latest tests, NE9 (Gateshead) water scores 9.4/10, which is safe. 0 of 20 tested contaminants exceeded recommended levels. Water is supplied by Northumbrian Water.

What contaminants are in NE9 water?

We tested 20 contaminants in NE9 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 NE9?

NE9 (Gateshead) is supplied by Northumbrian Water. You can view their full profile and compliance data on our supplier page.

Is NE9 water hard or soft?

Water in NE9 (Gateshead) has a hardness of 160 mg/L CaCO3, which is classified as moderately hard. This is a moderate hardness level.

Should I use a water filter in NE9?

NE9 water scored 9.4/10 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 NE9 water?

The tap-water tests we hold for NE9 do not include a PFAS result. Environment Agency monitoring found PFAS in 129 river and groundwater samples from 5 sites within 10 km of NE9, the highest being 6:2 FTSA at 0.029 µg/L about 8 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 NE9?

The Environment Agency rated the Team from Source to Tyne 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, insects and other small river life 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 NE9, which is treated before it reaches homes.

Keep reading

PFAS explainedHow to test your waterBest water filtersFilter shower headsWater testing kitsUK water rankingsWater hardness checkerWater hardness map

River and groundwater readings near NE9

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
Lead0.0014 mg/L0.01 mg/L
pH7.82 pHNone
Temperature16.9 °CNone
Conductivity1957 µS/cmNone
Cadmium0.000046 mg/L0.005 mg/L
Ammonia0.17 mg/L0.5 mg/L
Nitrate5.2 mg/L50 mg/L
Nitrite0.035 mg/L0.5 mg/L
Phosphate0.24 mg/LNone
Copper0.0061 mg/L2 mg/L
Zinc0.03 mg/LNone
Nickel0.014 mg/L0.02 mg/L
Dissolved Oxygen8.66 mg/LNone

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We'll email you when water quality data changes for NE9.

Source: Northumbrian 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