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tapwater
England and Wales average 9.0

Tap water in WA1, WarringtonSafe to drink.Moderately soft.

Supplied by United Utilities. 1,374 samples, 16 substances, latest on 31 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

ZeroWater 12-Cup Ready-Pour

ZeroWater 12-Cup Ready-Pour

£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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BRITA Marella XL + MAXTRA PRO

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Basic chlorine and taste improvement on a budget

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What's in a glass of WA1 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 36% 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%Nickel: 0.00077 mg/L, 4% of the 0.02 mg/L limitNickel4%Turbidity: 0.16 NTU, 4% of the 4 NTU limitTurbidity4%Iron: 0.008 mg/L, 4% of the 0.2 mg/L limitIron4%Aluminium: 0.00884 mg/L, 4% of the 0.2 mg/L limitAluminium4%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%Bromate: 0.00085 mg/L, 9% of the 0.01 mg/L limitBromate9%Ammonia: 0.054 mg/L, 11% of the 0.5 mg/L limitAmmonia11%Nitrate: 8.46 mg/L, 17% of the 50 mg/L limitNitrate17%Trihalomethanes: 0.0361 mg/L, 36% of the 0.1 mg/L limitTrihalomethanes36%
  1. Trihalomethanes36%
  2. Nitrate17%
  3. Ammonia11%
  4. Bromate9%
  5. Antimony6%
  6. Lead6%
  7. Aluminium4%
  8. Turbidity4%
  9. Iron4%
  10. Nickel4%
  11. Selenium2%
  12. Nitrite2%
  13. Cadmium2%
  14. Chromium2%
  15. Manganese<1%
  16. Copper<1%
All 16 results as a table
SubstanceResultLegal limitShare of limit
Turbidity0.16 NTU4 NTU
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%
Aluminium0.00884 mg/L0.2 mg/L
4%
Nitrite0.0098 mg/L0.5 mg/L
2%
Iron0.008 mg/L0.2 mg/L
4%
Manganese0.00045 mg/L0.05 mg/L
<1%
Nitrate8.46 mg/L50 mg/L
17%
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%
Bromate0.00085 mg/L0.01 mg/L
9%
Trihalomethanes0.0361 mg/L0.1 mg/L
36%

91mg 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 (Bollin confluence to Howley Weir) including Padgate Brook., rated moderate

The Environment Agency rated the Mersey (Bollin confluence to Howley Weir) including Padgate 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 insects and other small river life, dissolved oxygen 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

286

forever-chemical detections in nearby rivers and groundwater

At 10 sites. The highest was PFOS (linear) at 0.098 µg/L, at Solvay Interox Borehole No 1 Wrb No SJ58/71 Appn No 1391, 3.4 km away, in July 2023. These are river and borehole samples, not tests of your tap water.

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

WA1 in short

Tap water in WA1 (Warrington) is supplied by United Utilities in the Warrington 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 31 December 2024.

  • 3rd cleanest of 6 areas tested in WarringtonSquarely mid-table for Warrington, between WA2 on 9.4 and WA4 on 9.2. Every area in Warrington
  • PFAS found at 10 monitoring sites within 10 kmThose are river and groundwater samples, not tap water. The highest was PFOS (linear) about 3.4 km away. What was measured
  • Nothing tested came within 40% of its legal limitThe highest was Trihalomethanes at 36% of the 0.1 mg/L maximum. See every reading

Next door

WA139.2 out of 10 · 121 mg/LWA49.2 out of 10 · 121 mg/LWA39.4 out of 10 · 59 mg/LWA59.3 out of 10 · 94 mg/LWA29.4 out of 10 · 205 mg/L

Questions about WA1 water

Is WA1 tap water safe to drink?

Based on the latest tests, WA1 (Warrington) 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 WA1 water?

We tested 16 contaminants in WA1 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 WA1?

WA1 (Warrington) is supplied by United Utilities. You can view their full profile and compliance data on our supplier page.

Is WA1 water hard or soft?

Water in WA1 (Warrington) has a hardness of 91 mg/L CaCO3, which is classified as moderately soft. This is a moderate hardness level.

Should I use a water filter in WA1?

WA1 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 WA1 water?

The tap-water tests we hold for WA1 do not include a PFAS result. Environment Agency monitoring found PFAS in 286 river and groundwater samples from 10 sites within 10 km of WA1, the highest being PFOS (linear) at 0.098 µg/L about 3.4 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 river near WA1?

The Environment Agency rated the Mersey (Bollin confluence to Howley Weir) including Padgate 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 insects and other small river life, dissolved oxygen 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 WA1, which is treated before it reaches homes.

Keep reading

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

River and groundwater readings near WA1

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
Ammonia0.42 mg/L0.5 mg/L
pH6.94 pHNone
Temperature17.2 °CNone
Conductivity439 µS/cmNone
Nitrate6.3 mg/L50 mg/L
Nitrite0.15 mg/L0.5 mg/L
Phosphate0.39 mg/LNone
Dissolved Oxygen6.08 mg/LNone
PFAS (total)0.0041 µg/LNone

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We'll email you when water quality data changes for WA1.

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