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tapwater
England and Wales average 9.0

Tap water in SK3, StockportSafe to drink.Soft.

Supplied by United Utilities. 2,352 samples, 16 substances, latest on 17 December 2024. 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

ZeroWater 12-Cup Ready-Pour

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£40typical price

Households concerned about PFAS and heavy metals

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Waterdrop 10UA Under Sink

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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 SK3 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 31% 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: 0.00055 mg/L, 1% of the 0.05 mg/L limitManganese1%Nitrite: 0.0075 mg/L, 2% of the 0.5 mg/L limitNitrite2%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%Aluminium: 0.00425 mg/L, 2% of the 0.2 mg/L limitAluminium2%Selenium: 0.00085 mg/L, 2% of the 0.04 mg/L limitSelenium2%Nitrate: 2.04 mg/L, 4% of the 50 mg/L limitNitrate4%Turbidity: 0.2 NTU, 5% of the 4 NTU limitTurbidity5%Iron: 0.012 mg/L, 6% of the 0.2 mg/L limitIron6%Antimony: 0.00031 mg/L, 6% of the 0.005 mg/L limitAntimony6%Ammonia: 0.0321 mg/L, 6% of the 0.5 mg/L limitAmmonia6%Bromate: 0.00067 mg/L, 7% of the 0.01 mg/L limitBromate7%Nickel: 0.0014 mg/L, 7% of the 0.02 mg/L limitNickel7%Lead: 0.00119 mg/L, 12% of the 0.01 mg/L limitLead12%Trihalomethanes: 0.0308 mg/L, 31% of the 0.1 mg/L limitTrihalomethanes31%
  1. Trihalomethanes31%
  2. Lead12%
  3. Nickel7%
  4. Bromate7%
  5. Ammonia6%
  6. Antimony6%
  7. Iron6%
  8. Turbidity5%
  9. Nitrate4%
  10. Aluminium2%
  11. Selenium2%
  12. Cadmium2%
  13. Chromium2%
  14. Nitrite2%
  15. Manganese1%
  16. Copper<1%
All 16 results as a table
SubstanceResultLegal limitShare of limit
Turbidity0.2 NTU4 NTU
5%
Aluminium0.00425 mg/L0.2 mg/L
2%
Iron0.012 mg/L0.2 mg/L
6%
Manganese0.00055 mg/L0.05 mg/L
1%
Trihalomethanes0.0308 mg/L0.1 mg/L
31%
Bromate0.00067 mg/L0.01 mg/L
7%
Nitrate2.04 mg/L50 mg/L
4%
Nitrite0.0075 mg/L0.5 mg/L
2%
Ammonia0.0321 mg/L0.5 mg/L
6%
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%
Copper0.0000104 mg/L2 mg/L
<1%
Nickel0.0014 mg/L0.02 mg/L
7%
Lead0.00119 mg/L0.01 mg/L
12%

28mg 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 Mersey (upstream of Manchester Ship Canal), rated moderate

The Environment Agency rated the Mersey (upstream of Manchester Ship Canal) as moderate for ecological health in its 2025 assessment, meaning the river is noticeably changed by pollution or engineering. It is held back by organic pollution (bod) 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

68

forever-chemical detections in nearby rivers and groundwater

At 11 sites. The highest was 6:2 FTSA at 0.015 µg/L, at Cemex Concrete - Gorton, 7.9 km away, in July 2024. These are river and borehole samples, not tests of your tap water.

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

SK3 in short

Tap water in SK3 (Stockport) is supplied by United Utilities in the Stockport Central zone and scores 9.4 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 17 December 2024.

  • 3rd cleanest of 8 areas tested in StockportOnly 2 areas in Stockport scored higher. The best is SK8 on 9.5. Every area in Stockport
  • Soft water at 28 mg/LLimescale is not a problem in SK3, so skip softeners and scale filters entirely. How hardness is measured
  • PFAS found at 11 monitoring sites within 10 kmThose are river and groundwater samples, not tap water. The highest was 6:2 FTSA about 7.9 km away. What was measured

Next door

SK59.4 out of 10 · 27 mg/LSK69.4 out of 10 · 72 mg/LSK49.3 out of 10 · 28 mg/LSK29.4 out of 10 · 69 mg/LSK79.4 out of 10 · 47 mg/LSK89.5 out of 10 · 47 mg/LSK19.3 out of 10 · 28 mg/LM199.4 out of 10 · 30 mg/L

Questions about SK3 water

Is SK3 tap water safe to drink?

Based on the latest tests, SK3 (Stockport) water scores 9.4/10, which is safe. 0 of 16 tested contaminants exceeded recommended levels. Water is supplied by United Utilities.

What contaminants are in SK3 water?

We tested 16 contaminants in SK3 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 SK3?

SK3 (Stockport) is supplied by United Utilities. You can view their full profile and compliance data on our supplier page.

Is SK3 water hard or soft?

Water in SK3 (Stockport) has a hardness of 28 mg/L CaCO3, which is classified as soft. Soft water is gentle on appliances and skin.

Should I use a water filter in SK3?

SK3 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 SK3 water?

The tap-water tests we hold for SK3 do not include a PFAS result. Environment Agency monitoring found PFAS in 68 river and groundwater samples from 11 sites within 10 km of SK3, the highest being 6:2 FTSA at 0.015 µg/L about 7.9 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 SK3?

The Environment Agency rated the Mersey (upstream of Manchester Ship Canal) as moderate for ecological health in its 2025 assessment, meaning the river is noticeably changed by pollution or engineering. It is held back by organic pollution (bod) 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 SK3, which is treated before it reaches homes.

Keep reading

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

River and groundwater readings near SK3

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
pH7.59 pHNone
Temperature15.4 °CNone
Conductivity369 µS/cmNone
Ammonia0.054 mg/L0.5 mg/L
Nitrate0.79 mg/L50 mg/L
Nitrite0.016 mg/L0.5 mg/L
Phosphate0.098 mg/LNone
Dissolved Oxygen9.33 mg/LNone

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We'll email you when water quality data changes for SK3.

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