Municipal Water

Many homeowners receive water from their municipality. Most often, municipal drinking supplies are collected from surface water such as rivers, lakes and reservoirs. Water is then filtered, chlorinated and distributed through underground pipes.

Drinking water quality standards are set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA.GOV) to protect the population from contaminated water. For a review of minimum drinking water standards, click here.

The Hudson Valley’s municipal water supply is provided by regional reservoirs. Like most municipal water, it is treated with chlorine to disinfect and oxidize contaminants such as sulfur and iron.

Municipalities are responsible for your water until it T’s off of the main supply line on your street. Homeowners are responsible for any treatment from the street to the faucet.

Common concerns about municipal water quality include:

• Residual chlorine from treatment plant
• Bacterial contamination from broken pipes
• Heavy metals from deteriorating supply lines
• Contaminants such as nitrates, pesticides and herbicides that are detected but pass the EPA’s “minimum standard” for safety

Our most common filtration method for homes on municipal water supplies is a Reverse Osmosis system. These systems purify drinking water through 4 or 5 stages of filtration and remove, among other things, chlorine, fluoride and heavy metals.