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tapwater
England and Wales average 9.0

Tap water in WN2, WiganSafe to drink.Soft.

Supplied by United Utilities. 3,682 samples, 16 substances, latest on 20 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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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 WN2 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 24% of it. 16 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: 0.00059 mg/L, 1% of the 0.05 mg/L limitManganese1%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%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%Turbidity: 0.16 NTU, 4% of the 4 NTU limitTurbidity4%Nitrate: 2.44 mg/L, 5% of the 50 mg/L limitNitrate5%Lead: 0.00055 mg/L, 6% of the 0.01 mg/L limitLead6%Aluminium: 0.0117 mg/L, 6% of the 0.2 mg/L limitAluminium6%Antimony: 0.00031 mg/L, 6% of the 0.005 mg/L limitAntimony6%Ammonia: 0.054 mg/L, 11% of the 0.5 mg/L limitAmmonia11%Bromate: 0.00109 mg/L, 11% of the 0.01 mg/L limitBromate11%Trihalomethanes: 0.0242 mg/L, 24% of the 0.1 mg/L limitTrihalomethanes24%
  1. Trihalomethanes24%
  2. Bromate11%
  3. Ammonia11%
  4. Antimony6%
  5. Aluminium6%
  6. Lead6%
  7. Nitrate5%
  8. Turbidity4%
  9. Nickel4%
  10. Iron3%
  11. Selenium2%
  12. Nitrite2%
  13. Cadmium2%
  14. Chromium2%
  15. Manganese1%
  16. Copper<1%
All 16 results as a table
SubstanceResultLegal limitShare of limit
Aluminium0.0117 mg/L0.2 mg/L
6%
Iron0.007 mg/L0.2 mg/L
3%
Manganese0.00059 mg/L0.05 mg/L
1%
Turbidity0.16 NTU4 NTU
4%
Bromate0.00109 mg/L0.01 mg/L
11%
Trihalomethanes0.0242 mg/L0.1 mg/L
24%
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%
Nitrate2.44 mg/L50 mg/L
5%
Nitrite0.0098 mg/L0.5 mg/L
2%
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%

20mg 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 Hey/Borsdane Brook, rated moderate

The Environment Agency rated the Hey/Borsdane 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 and water plants and algae. 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

177

forever-chemical detections in nearby rivers and groundwater

At 7 sites. The highest was PFBS at 0.037 µg/L, at SSN0058 Reed Brook Ds Ochre Flash, 3.7 km away, in January 2026. These are river and borehole samples, not tests of your tap water.

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

WN2 in short

Tap water in WN2 (Wigan) is supplied by United Utilities in the Wigan 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 20 December 2024.

  • Soft water at 20 mg/LLimescale is not a problem in WN2, so skip softeners and scale filters entirely. How hardness is measured
  • 5th cleanest of 9 areas tested in WiganSquarely mid-table for Wigan, between M29 on 9.5 and WN7 on 9.3. Every area in Wigan
  • PFAS found at 7 monitoring sites within 10 kmThose are river and groundwater samples, not tap water. The highest was PFBS about 3.7 km away. What was measured

Next door

WN49.4 out of 10 · 63 mg/LM469.5 out of 10 · 21 mg/LM299.5 out of 10 · 21 mg/LWN79.3 out of 10 · 21 mg/LWN59.4 out of 10 · 63 mg/LWN39.5 out of 10 · 59 mg/LWN19.4 out of 10 · 20 mg/LWN69.4 out of 10 · 33 mg/L

Questions about WN2 water

Is WN2 tap water safe to drink?

Based on the latest tests, WN2 (Wigan) 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 WN2 water?

We tested 16 contaminants in WN2 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 WN2?

WN2 (Wigan) is supplied by United Utilities. You can view their full profile and compliance data on our supplier page.

Is WN2 water hard or soft?

Water in WN2 (Wigan) has a hardness of 20 mg/L CaCO3, which is classified as soft. Soft water is gentle on appliances and skin.

Should I use a water filter in WN2?

WN2 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 WN2 water?

The tap-water tests we hold for WN2 do not include a PFAS result. Environment Agency monitoring found PFAS in 177 river and groundwater samples from 7 sites within 10 km of WN2, the highest being PFBS at 0.037 µg/L about 3.7 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 WN2?

The Environment Agency rated the Hey/Borsdane 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 and water plants and algae. 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 WN2, which is treated before it reaches homes.

Keep reading

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

River and groundwater readings near WN2

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
Ammonia0.6 mg/L0.5 mg/L
pH7.99 pHNone
Temperature16.9 °CNone
Conductivity742 µS/cmNone
Nitrate0.87 mg/L50 mg/L
Nitrite0.061 mg/L0.5 mg/L
Phosphate0.32 mg/LNone
Dissolved Oxygen8.47 mg/LNone
Copper0.00253 mg/L2 mg/L
Zinc0.00677 mg/LNone

Get alerts for your area

We'll email you when water quality data changes for WN2.

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