PFAS in Rhode Island drinking water
EPA's final UCMR 5 data covers 29 public water systems in Rhode Island, serving about 1.1 million people. PFAS turned up in 15 of them (52%). 8 averaged above at least one EPA limit at a sampling point, affecting about 220,864 people.
Highest PFOA and PFOS averages among systems serving 1,000 or more: University of Rhode Island (16.0 / 4.5 ppt), Quonset Business Park (11.4 / 4.5 ppt), Westerly Water Department (7.5 / 6.0 ppt), Town of North Kingstown (7.7 / 4.4 ppt) and Kent County Water Authority (7.1 / 0.0 ppt).
Every tested system in Rhode Island
Largest first. PFOA and PFOS columns show the average at each system's worst sampling point; EPA's limit for each is 4 ppt. Filter by name:
| Water system | People | PFOA | PFOS | PFAS found | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Providence-city of · Providence | 333,142 | - | - | 0 | None found |
| Pawtucket-city of · Pawtucket | 98,130 | - | - | 1 | Below limits |
| Kent County Water Authority · West Greenwich | 94,107 | 7.1 | - | 6 | Above limit |
| Warwick-city of · Warwick | 73,289 | - | - | 0 | None found |
| Bristol County Water Authority · Warren | 49,000 | - | - | 0 | None found |
| East Providence-city of · East Providence | 47,618 | - | - | 0 | None found |
| Woonsocket Water Division · Woonsocket | 45,828 | 1.4 | - | 5 | Sample at limit |
| Newport-city of · Newport | 42,155 | - | - | 3 | Below limits |
| Westerly Water Department · Westerly | 35,298 | 7.5 | 6.0 | 7 | Above limit |
| Town of North Kingstown · North Kingstown | 27,732 | 7.7 | 4.4 | 6 | Above limit |
| Suez Water · Wakefield | 22,347 | - | - | 0 | None found |
| Lincoln Water Commission · Lincoln | 21,664 | - | - | 0 | None found |
| Town of Cumberland · Cumberland | 21,235 | 4.2 | 2.8 | 6 | Above limit |
| University of Rhode Island · Kingston | 19,354 | 16.0 | 4.5 | 8 | Above limit |
| Portsmouth Water & Fire District · Portsmouth | 17,090 | - | - | 0 | None found |
| Quonset Business Park · North Kingstown | 13,000 | 11.4 | 4.5 | 7 | Above limit |
| Block Island Water Company | 9,999 | - | - | 0 | None found |
| Cne - New London Turnpike Entry Point · Warwick | 9,999 | - | - | 0 | None found |
| Greenville Water District · Greenville | 9,500 | - | - | 0 | None found |
| Smithfield Water Supply Board · Smithfield | 9,460 | - | - | 0 | None found |
| North Tiverton Fire District · Tiverton | 8,969 | 2.3 | - | 2 | Sample at limit |
| Narragansett Water System-point Judith · Narragansett | 8,210 | - | - | 0 | None found |
| Rhode Island Hospital - Lifespan · Newton | 8,040 | - | - | 0 | None found |
| Naval Station, Newport · Newport | 7,870 | - | - | 3 | Below limits |
| South Kingstown-south Shore · Wakefield | 6,170 | 6.1 | - | 4 | Above limit |
| Narragansett Water Dept-north End · Narragansett | 4,432 | 2.1 | 2.0 | 4 | Sample at limit |
| Kingston Water District · West Kingston | 3,968 | 5.2 | - | 5 | Above limit |
| Jamestown Water Department · Jamestown | 3,348 | - | - | 1 | Below limits |
| Ponaganset High School · North Scituate | 1,600 | - | - | 0 | None found |
On a private well in Rhode Island?
EPA's program only covers public systems. Private wells are never part of UCMR 5, so the only way to know is to test. Our well testing guide covers which lab tests to order, and the best well water systems covers what to install once you have results.
Cite this page
Well & Tap. "PFAS in Rhode Island drinking water: results for 29 systems." Data: U.S. EPA UCMR 5, final release August 2026. https://wellandtap.com/pfas/rhode-island/
Source: EPA UCMR 5 final occurrence data (August 2026); population from EPA SDWIS. Method.