Drinking Water Quality

The EPA requires that public water systems must deliver a Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) to their customers each year to provide information about their local drinking water quality. In this Assignment, we will choose the city of Lowell in Massachusetts, the resource provided below for the most recent CCR report.

You are required to do the following:

1. Examine the 2023 Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) prepared by the Lowell Regional Water Utility and answer these questions:

• When reviewing the CCR, what is your overall impression about the Lowell’s drinking water quality in 2023?
• Does the Lowell drinking water meet the requirements of the EPA’s National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWR)?
• Does the Lowell drinking water have any other contaminant(s) that are not listed in the EPA's NPDWR?
• Where does the Lowell drinking water originate?

2. Next, go to the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) tap water database at https://www.ewg.org/tapwater/ and locate the Lowell Regional Water Utility data. Find out how the EWG Health Guidelines differ from the EPA’s NPDWR for detected contaminants in Lowell’s drinking water?

3. Finally, conclude briefly with your own thoughts on the significance of your above findings (if any) .  

Resources for Assignment

• Read: The Lowell Regional Water Utility. Consumer Confidence Reports (CCRs) 2023. Link to the website.
• Link to Lowell 2023 CCR 
• Read: EPA. National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (NPDWR). Link to the website.
• The entire NPDWR table: Link to PDF
• Explore: Environmental Working Group (EWG) Tap Water Database. Link to the website.