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tapwater
England and Wales average 9.0

Tap water in SY14, Cheshire West and ChesterSafe to drink.Soft.

Supplied by United Utilities. 759 samples, 17 substances, latest on 18 December 2024. Everything is inside the legal limit, and nothing comes close to it.

See the filter we recommendSee everything that was tested

9.0 / 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 SY14 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 65% of it. 16 of 17 substances used under a quarter of theirs.

0%25%50%75%limitLegal limitCopper: 0.0000125 mg/L, <1% of the 2 mg/L limitCopper<1%Manganese: 0.00045 mg/L, <1% of the 0.05 mg/L limitManganese<1%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%Selenium: 0.00085 mg/L, 2% of the 0.04 mg/L limitSelenium2%Aluminium: 0.00622 mg/L, 3% of the 0.2 mg/L limitAluminium3%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%Nitrate: 2.44 mg/L, 5% of the 50 mg/L limitNitrate5%Bromate: 0.00049 mg/L, 5% of the 0.01 mg/L limitBromate5%Turbidity: 0.2 NTU, 5% of the 4 NTU limitTurbidity5%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%Lead: 0.00123 mg/L, 12% of the 0.01 mg/L limitLead12%Trihalomethanes: 0.0245 mg/L, 25% of the 0.1 mg/L limitTrihalomethanes25%Fluoride: 0.98 mg/L, 65% of the 1.5 mg/L limitFluoride65%
  1. Fluoride65%
  2. Trihalomethanes25%
  3. Lead12%
  4. Ammonia6%
  5. Antimony6%
  6. Turbidity5%
  7. Bromate5%
  8. Nitrate5%
  9. Nickel4%
  10. Iron3%
  11. Aluminium3%
  12. Selenium2%
  13. Cadmium2%
  14. Chromium2%
  15. Nitrite2%
  16. Manganese<1%
  17. Copper<1%
All 17 results as a table
SubstanceResultLegal limitShare of limit
Turbidity0.2 NTU4 NTU
5%
Aluminium0.00622 mg/L0.2 mg/L
3%
Iron0.007 mg/L0.2 mg/L
3%
Manganese0.00045 mg/L0.05 mg/L
<1%
Nitrate2.44 mg/L50 mg/L
5%
Nitrite0.0075 mg/L0.5 mg/L
2%
Ammonia0.0321 mg/L0.5 mg/L
6%
Fluoride0.98 mg/L1.5 mg/L
65%
Bromate0.00049 mg/L0.01 mg/L
5%
Copper0.0000125 mg/L2 mg/L
<1%
Nickel0.00077 mg/L0.02 mg/L
4%
Lead0.00123 mg/L0.01 mg/L
12%
Antimony0.00031 mg/L0.005 mg/L
6%
Selenium0.00085 mg/L0.04 mg/L
2%
Cadmium0.00009 mg/L0.005 mg/L
2%
Chromium0.00083 mg/L0.05 mg/L
2%
Trihalomethanes0.0245 mg/L0.1 mg/L
25%

16mg 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 Aldford Brook, rated moderate

The Environment Agency rated the Aldford Brook as moderate for ecological health in its 2025 assessment, meaning the river is noticeably changed by pollution or engineering. It is held back by dissolved oxygen, phosphate and insects and other small river life. 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

SY14 in short

Tap water in SY14 (Cheshire West and Chester) is supplied by United Utilities in the Cheshire West and Chester Central zone and scores 9.0 out of 10, against an England and Wales average of 9.0. None of the 17 tested substances came close to a limit. The latest sample is from 18 December 2024.

  • The lowest score of the 14 areas tested in Cheshire West and ChesterSY14 scores 9 out of 10. The best in Cheshire West and Chester, CW7, scores 9.5.
  • Fluoride is the reading closest to its limit, at 65% of the 1.5 mg/L maximumIt passed with room to spare, and everything else tested sat further below its limit. See every reading
  • Soft water at 16 mg/LLimescale is not a problem in SY14, so skip softeners and scale filters entirely. How hardness is measured

Next door

CH29.3 out of 10 · 95 mg/LCH19.4 out of 10 · 95 mg/LCH39.0 out of 10 · 95 mg/LCH349.3 out of 10 · 89 mg/LCH649.2 out of 10 · 89 mg/LCH659.3 out of 10 · 89 mg/LCW79.5 out of 10 · 113 mg/LCW89.2 out of 10 · 112 mg/LCW99.2 out of 10 · 113 mg/LCW69.0 out of 10 · 16 mg/L

Questions about SY14 water

Is SY14 tap water safe to drink?

Based on the latest tests, SY14 (Cheshire West and Chester) water scores 9/10, which is safe. 0 of 17 tested contaminants exceeded recommended levels. Water is supplied by United Utilities.

What contaminants are in SY14 water?

We tested 17 contaminants in SY14 water. None exceeded recommended safe levels.

Who supplies water in SY14?

SY14 (Cheshire West and Chester) is supplied by United Utilities. You can view their full profile and compliance data on our supplier page.

Is SY14 water hard or soft?

Water in SY14 (Cheshire West and Chester) has a hardness of 16 mg/L CaCO3, which is classified as soft. Soft water is gentle on appliances and skin.

Should I use a water filter in SY14?

SY14 water scored 9/10 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 SY14 water?

No PFAS (forever chemicals) result is attached to the tap-water tests for SY14, and the Environment Agency has no PFAS detections in rivers or groundwater within 10 km of it. That reflects where sampling has happened as much as the water itself.

How clean is the river near SY14?

The Environment Agency rated the Aldford Brook as moderate for ecological health in its 2025 assessment, meaning the river is noticeably changed by pollution or engineering. It is held back by dissolved oxygen, phosphate and insects and other small river life. 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 SY14, which is treated before it reaches homes.

Keep reading

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

River and groundwater readings near SY14

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
Temperature14.3 °CNone
Nitrate1.1 mg/L50 mg/L
Phosphate0.24 mg/LNone
Nitrite0.012 mg/L0.5 mg/L
pH8.2 pHNone
Conductivity948 µS/cmNone
Ammonia0.047 mg/L0.5 mg/L
Dissolved Oxygen8.91 mg/LNone

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We'll email you when water quality data changes for SY14.

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