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tapwater
England and Wales average 9.0

Tap water in SR5, SunderlandSafe to drink.Slightly hard.

Supplied by Northumbrian Water. 4,767 samples, 20 substances, latest on 18 December 2025. Everything is inside the legal limit, and nothing comes close to it.

See the filter we recommendSee everything that was tested

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

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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 SR5 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 16% of it. 18 of 18 substances used under a quarter of theirs.

0%25%50%75%limitLegal limitCadmium: 0.000018 mg/L, <1% of the 0.005 mg/L limitCadmium<1%Copper: 0.011 mg/L, <1% of the 2 mg/L limitCopper<1%Lead: 0.000065 mg/L, <1% of the 0.01 mg/L limitLead<1%Boron: 0.011 mg/L, 1% of the 1 mg/L limitBoron1%Manganese: 0.00056 mg/L, 1% of the 0.05 mg/L limitManganese1%Arsenic: 0.00012 mg/L, 1% of the 0.01 mg/L limitArsenic1%Nitrite: 0.0061 mg/L, 1% of the 0.5 mg/L limitNitrite1%Chromium: 0.00067 mg/L, 1% of the 0.05 mg/L limitChromium1%Selenium: 0.00083 mg/L, 2% of the 0.04 mg/L limitSelenium2%Antimony: 0.00017 mg/L, 3% of the 0.005 mg/L limitAntimony3%Nitrate: 1.8 mg/L, 4% of the 50 mg/L limitNitrate4%Nickel: 0.00085 mg/L, 4% of the 0.02 mg/L limitNickel4%Turbidity: 0.2 NTU, 5% of the 4 NTU limitTurbidity5%Bromate: 0.0005 mg/L, 5% of the 0.01 mg/L limitBromate5%Colour: 1.1 mg/L Pt/Co, 6% of the 20 mg/L Pt/Co limitColour6%Aluminium: 0.012 mg/L, 6% of the 0.2 mg/L limitAluminium6%Iron: 0.013 mg/L, 7% of the 0.2 mg/L limitIron7%Fluoride: 0.24 mg/L, 16% of the 1.5 mg/L limitFluoride16%
  1. Fluoride16%
  2. Iron7%
  3. Aluminium6%
  4. Colour6%
  5. Turbidity5%
  6. Bromate5%
  7. Nickel4%
  8. Nitrate4%
  9. Antimony3%
  10. Selenium2%
  11. Chromium1%
  12. Nitrite1%
  13. Arsenic1%
  14. Manganese1%
  15. Boron1%
  16. Lead<1%
  17. Copper<1%
  18. Cadmium<1%
  • Conductivity 560 µS/cm
  • pH 7.8 pH
All 20 results as a table
SubstanceResultLegal limitShare of limit
Turbidity0.2 NTU4 NTU
5%
Colour1.1 mg/L Pt/Co20 mg/L Pt/Co
6%
Iron0.013 mg/L0.2 mg/L
7%
Conductivity560 µS/cmNo legal limit–
pH7.8 pHNo legal limit–
Aluminium0.012 mg/L0.2 mg/L
6%
Manganese0.00056 mg/L0.05 mg/L
1%
Nickel0.00085 mg/L0.02 mg/L
4%
Copper0.011 mg/L2 mg/L
<1%
Selenium0.00083 mg/L0.04 mg/L
2%
Bromate0.0005 mg/L0.01 mg/L
5%
Lead0.000065 mg/L0.01 mg/L
<1%
Antimony0.00017 mg/L0.005 mg/L
3%
Nitrite0.0061 mg/L0.5 mg/L
1%
Chromium0.00067 mg/L0.05 mg/L
1%
Fluoride0.24 mg/L1.5 mg/L
16%
Nitrate1.8 mg/L50 mg/L
4%
Boron0.011 mg/L1 mg/L
1%
Arsenic0.00012 mg/L0.01 mg/L
1%
Cadmium0.000018 mg/L0.005 mg/L
<1%

148mg 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 Don from Source to Tidal Limit, rated moderate

The Environment Agency rated the Don from Source to Tidal Limit 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

25

forever-chemical detections in nearby rivers and groundwater

At 2 sites. The highest was 6:2 FTSA at 0.029 µg/L, at Don at Jarrow Cemetery, 6.9 km away, in January 2026. These are river and borehole samples, not tests of your tap water.

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

SR5 in short

Tap water in SR5 (Sunderland) is supplied by Northumbrian Water in the Sunderland Central zone and scores 9.7 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 18 December 2025.

  • The cleanest tap water of the 10 areas tested in SunderlandSR5 scores 9.7 out of 10, ahead of SR6 in second place on 9.7. Every area in Sunderland
  • 0.7 points above the national average of 9Cleaner than the typical tested district in the UK. Compare every area
  • PFAS found at 2 monitoring sites within 10 kmThose are river and groundwater samples, not tap water. The highest was 6:2 FTSA about 6.9 km away. What was measured

Next door

DH59.5 out of 10 · 315 mg/LDH49.5 out of 10 · 378 mg/LNE389.4 out of 10 · 148 mg/LNE379.6 out of 10 · 148 mg/LSR29.4 out of 10 · 413 mg/LSR49.5 out of 10 · 378 mg/LSR19.5 out of 10 · 308 mg/LSR39.3 out of 10 · 378 mg/LSR69.7 out of 10 · 413 mg/LNE349.6 out of 10 · 68 mg/L

Questions about SR5 water

Is SR5 tap water safe to drink?

Based on the latest tests, SR5 (Sunderland) water scores 9.7/10, which is safe. 0 of 20 tested contaminants exceeded recommended levels. Water is supplied by Northumbrian Water.

What contaminants are in SR5 water?

We tested 20 contaminants in SR5 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 SR5?

SR5 (Sunderland) is supplied by Northumbrian Water. You can view their full profile and compliance data on our supplier page.

Is SR5 water hard or soft?

Water in SR5 (Sunderland) has a hardness of 148 mg/L CaCO3, which is classified as moderately hard. This is a moderate hardness level.

Should I use a water filter in SR5?

SR5 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 SR5 water?

The tap-water tests we hold for SR5 do not include a PFAS result. Environment Agency monitoring found PFAS in 25 river and groundwater samples from 2 sites within 10 km of SR5, the highest being 6:2 FTSA at 0.029 µg/L about 6.9 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 SR5?

The Environment Agency rated the Don from Source to Tidal Limit 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 SR5, which is treated before it reaches homes.

Keep reading

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

River and groundwater readings near SR5

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
Manganese0.183 mg/L0.05 mg/L
Iron3.53 mg/L0.2 mg/L
pH8.11 pHNone
Temperature4.6 °CNone
Conductivity1386 µS/cmNone
Ammonia0.051 mg/L0.5 mg/L
Nitrate2.4 mg/L50 mg/L
Nitrite0.015 mg/L0.5 mg/L
Phosphate0.028 mg/LNone
Dissolved Oxygen13.1 mg/LNone
Aluminium0.0415 mg/L0.2 mg/L

Get alerts for your area

We'll email you when water quality data changes for SR5.

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