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tapwater
England and Wales average 9.0

Tap water in WN7, WiganSafe to drink.Soft.

Supplied by United Utilities. 2,379 samples, 16 substances, latest on 28 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

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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 WN7 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 30% of it. 15 of 16 substances used under a quarter of theirs.

0%25%50%75%limitLegal limitCopper: 0.0000196 mg/L, <1% of the 2 mg/L limitCopper<1%Manganese: 0.00074 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%Selenium: 0.00085 mg/L, 2% of the 0.04 mg/L limitSelenium2%Bromate: 0.00033 mg/L, 3% of the 0.01 mg/L limitBromate3%Iron: 0.007 mg/L, 3% of the 0.2 mg/L limitIron3%Nickel: 0.00079 mg/L, 4% of the 0.02 mg/L limitNickel4%Nitrate: 2.04 mg/L, 4% of the 50 mg/L limitNitrate4%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%Aluminium: 0.0288 mg/L, 14% of the 0.2 mg/L limitAluminium14%Lead: 0.00225 mg/L, 23% of the 0.01 mg/L limitLead23%Trihalomethanes: 0.0301 mg/L, 30% of the 0.1 mg/L limitTrihalomethanes30%
  1. Trihalomethanes30%
  2. Lead23%
  3. Aluminium14%
  4. Ammonia6%
  5. Antimony6%
  6. Turbidity5%
  7. Nitrate4%
  8. Nickel4%
  9. Iron3%
  10. Bromate3%
  11. Selenium2%
  12. Cadmium2%
  13. Chromium2%
  14. Nitrite2%
  15. Manganese1%
  16. Copper<1%
All 16 results as a table
SubstanceResultLegal limitShare of limit
Nitrate2.04 mg/L50 mg/L
4%
Nitrite0.0075 mg/L0.5 mg/L
2%
Ammonia0.0321 mg/L0.5 mg/L
6%
Trihalomethanes0.0301 mg/L0.1 mg/L
30%
Turbidity0.2 NTU4 NTU
5%
Aluminium0.0288 mg/L0.2 mg/L
14%
Iron0.007 mg/L0.2 mg/L
3%
Manganese0.00074 mg/L0.05 mg/L
1%
Copper0.0000196 mg/L2 mg/L
<1%
Nickel0.00079 mg/L0.02 mg/L
4%
Bromate0.00033 mg/L0.01 mg/L
3%
Lead0.00225 mg/L0.01 mg/L
23%
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%

21mg 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 Bedford Brook, rated moderate

The Environment Agency rated the Bedford 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 specific pollutants. 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

233

forever-chemical detections in nearby rivers and groundwater

At 9 sites. The highest was PFBS at 0.037 µg/L, at SSN0058 Reed Brook Ds Ochre Flash, 8.0 km away, in January 2026. These are river and borehole samples, not tests of your tap water.

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

WN7 in short

Tap water in WN7 (Wigan) is supplied by United Utilities in the Wigan 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 28 December 2024.

  • The lowest score of the 9 areas tested in WiganWN7 scores 9.3 out of 10. The best in Wigan, M29, scores 9.5. Every area in Wigan
  • Every one of the 9 neighbouring districts scores higherM46 next door scores 9.5, against 9.3 here. Supply zones, not distance, explain the gap. See M46
  • Soft water at 21 mg/LLimescale is not a problem in WN7, so skip softeners and scale filters entirely. How hardness is measured

Next door

WN49.4 out of 10 · 63 mg/LM469.5 out of 10 · 21 mg/LM299.5 out of 10 · 21 mg/LWN39.5 out of 10 · 59 mg/LWN69.4 out of 10 · 33 mg/LWN59.4 out of 10 · 63 mg/LWN19.4 out of 10 · 20 mg/LWN29.4 out of 10 · 20 mg/LWA39.4 out of 10 · 59 mg/L

Questions about WN7 water

Is WN7 tap water safe to drink?

Based on the latest tests, WN7 (Wigan) 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 WN7 water?

We tested 16 contaminants in WN7 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 WN7?

WN7 (Wigan) is supplied by United Utilities. You can view their full profile and compliance data on our supplier page.

Is WN7 water hard or soft?

Water in WN7 (Wigan) has a hardness of 21 mg/L CaCO3, which is classified as soft. Soft water is gentle on appliances and skin.

Should I use a water filter in WN7?

WN7 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 WN7 water?

The tap-water tests we hold for WN7 do not include a PFAS result. Environment Agency monitoring found PFAS in 233 river and groundwater samples from 9 sites within 10 km of WN7, the highest being PFBS at 0.037 µg/L about 8 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 WN7?

The Environment Agency rated the Bedford 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 specific pollutants. 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 WN7, 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 WN7

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
pH8.33 pHNone
Temperature18.3 °CNone
Conductivity642 µS/cmNone
Ammonia0.062 mg/L0.5 mg/L
Nitrate0.74 mg/L50 mg/L
Nitrite0.022 mg/L0.5 mg/L
Phosphate0.13 mg/LNone
Dissolved Oxygen10 mg/LNone

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We'll email you when water quality data changes for WN7.

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