Public water system · MA3320000

Active

Wenham Water Dept.

At a glance

Wenham Water Dept. (PWSID MA3320000) is an active community water system in Essex County, Massachusetts. It reports serving 3,942 people through 12,450 service connections. Its primary water source is groundwater, and EPA lists it as owned by a local government. EPA's records list 11 violations for this system; 9 are health-based, and the most recent began in July 2015.

Dataset updated October 2026 . Source: EPA SDWIS/ECHO public records.

Population served

3,942

Service connections

12,450

Primary source

Groundwater

System type

CWS

Community water system

System record

PWSIDMA3320000

System typeCommunity water system

Activity statusActive

Population served3,942

Service connections12,450

Primary water sourceGroundwater

Owner typeLocal government

Primacy agencyMA state drinking water program

City servedWenham

StateMassachusetts

ZIP01984

CountyEssex County

How does Wenham Water Dept. compare with other water systems in Essex County?

By EPA's size categories, Wenham Water Dept. is a medium system (3,301 to 10,000 people). Essex County has 67 active public water systems. Its population served is well below the county average of 13,412 people per system, and accounts for 0.4% of the 898,585 people reported by systems filed under the county. Across Massachusetts, the 1,636 active systems average 6,275 people each. Nationally, the average active community water system reports serving 6,703 people, so Wenham Water Dept. is about 41% below that figure.

What does “community water system” mean?

A community water system serves at least 15 connections used by year-round residents, or regularly serves at least 25 year-round residents. Homes, apartments and mobile-home parks are served by these. Massachusetts has 531 active community water systems, 32% of the state's 1,636 active systems. Groundwater means the system draws its water from wells or springs fed by underground aquifers. 1,354 Massachusetts systems (83%) list groundwater as their primary source.

Who owns and regulates Wenham Water Dept.?

EPA lists Wenham Water Dept. as owned by a local government. The MA state drinking water program is its primacy agency, the regulator with primary enforcement responsibility for the system under the Safe Drinking Water Act. 39 of the 67 active systems in Essex County (58%) are also owned by a local government.

Does Wenham Water Dept. have drinking water violations?

EPA's records list 11 violations for this system; 9 are health-based, and the most recent began in July 2015. The violations listed here began between January 1994 and July 2015. By type: 8 contaminant level above the legal limit, 2 monitoring and reporting and 1 required treatment not met. The contaminant or rule involved most often is Total coliform bacteria (TCR) (9 of them). EPA lists 7 as archived and 4 as resolved. Archived means the violation was not marked resolved but is more than five years past the end of the noncompliance period, so it no longer counts toward current compliance status. Resolved means at least one resolving action is on record: the system returned to compliance, the rule no longer applies, or no further action was needed.

Began	Violation	Contaminant or rule	Health-based	Status
2015-07-01	Monitoring and reportingFollow-up Or Routine LCR Tap M/R · code 52	Lead and Copper Rulecode 5000	No	Resolved
2011-10-01	Contaminant level above the legal limitMaximum Contaminant Level Violation, Acute (TCR) · code 21	Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100	Yes	Archived
2011-04-01	Contaminant level above the legal limitMaximum Contaminant Level Violation, Monthly (TCR) · code 22	Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100	Yes	Archived
2010-10-01	Contaminant level above the legal limitMaximum Contaminant Level Violation, Monthly (TCR) · code 22	Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100	Yes	Resolved
2010-09-01	Contaminant level above the legal limitMaximum Contaminant Level Violation, Monthly (TCR) · code 22	Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100	Yes	Resolved
2009-03-01	Contaminant level above the legal limitMaximum Contaminant Level Violation, Monthly (TCR) · code 22	Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100	Yes	Archived
2009-01-01	Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Repeat Major (TCR) · code 25	Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100	No	Archived
2008-12-01	Contaminant level above the legal limitMaximum Contaminant Level Violation, Monthly (TCR) · code 22	Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100	Yes	Archived
2008-08-01	Contaminant level above the legal limitMaximum Contaminant Level Violation, Monthly (TCR) · code 22	Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100	Yes	Archived
1998-06-01	Contaminant level above the legal limitMaximum Contaminant Level Violation, Monthly (TCR) · code 22	Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100	Yes	Archived
1994-01-01	Required treatment not metPublic Education · code 65	Lead and Copper Rulecode 5000	Yes	Resolved

All 11 violations in EPA's records, newest first.Labels and codes come from EPA's SDWIS reference tables. A monitoring or reporting violation means a required test or report was missed or late; it does not by itself mean a contaminant was found. "Health-based" marks violations of a legal limit or required treatment.

Wenham Water Dept.: frequently asked questions

Who runs Wenham Water Dept.?

Wenham Water Dept. (PWSID MA3320000) is a community water system owned by a local government. It is regulated by the MA state drinking water program.

How many people does Wenham Water Dept. serve?

Wenham Water Dept. reports serving 3,942 people through 12,450 service connections in Essex County, Massachusetts.

Where does Wenham Water Dept. get its water?

EPA SDWIS lists this system's primary water source as groundwater. Groundwater means the system draws its water from wells or springs fed by underground aquifers.

Does Wenham Water Dept. have any drinking water violations?

EPA's records list 11 violations for this system; 9 are health-based, and the most recent began in July 2015. A monitoring or reporting violation means a required test or report was missed or late; it does not by itself mean a contaminant was found.

Is Wenham Water Dept.'s water safe to drink?

AquaCensus shows EPA compliance records, not current water test results, so it cannot say whether the water is safe at a given moment. EPA's records list 11 violations for this system; 9 are health-based, and the most recent began in July 2015. For current results, consult the system's annual water quality report, EPA ECHO, or the MA state drinking water program.

Where can I find Wenham Water Dept.'s water quality report?

As a community water system, Wenham Water Dept. must deliver an annual water quality report, called a Consumer Confidence Report, to its customers by July 1 each year, covering the previous calendar year. The system can provide a copy on request.

Other water systems in Essex County

Water system	County	Population served	Type	Source
Lynn Water and Sewer Comm	Essex	101,253	Community	Surface water
Salem and Beverly Water Supply Board	Essex	90,330	Community	Surface water
Lawrence Water Works	Essex	89,143	Community	Surface water
Haverhill Water Dept	Essex	61,277	Community	Surface water
Peabody Water Dept.	Essex	54,481	Community	Surface water
Methuen Water Dept	Essex	53,059	Community	Surface water

Working with water-system records? Pro adds alerts, change history and CSV export ($49/mo); Enterprise adds full national files, the API and an MCP server for AI tools.

About this data

Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) and SDWA violation records, via EPA ECHO, as published October 1, 2026 — AquaCensus refreshes it quarterly. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.

Cite as: AquaCensus, “Wenham Water Dept., PWSID MA3320000, Massachusetts”, https://aquacensus.com/water-systems/massachusetts/wenham-water-dept-ma3320000 (data as of October 1, 2026).