Queens County, New York: drinking water report. Queens is one of the five boroughs of New York City, with about 2.3 million residents drinking water
Queens is one of the five boroughs of New York City, with about 2.3 million residents drinking water supplied by the NYC Department of Environmental Protection. The water travels from the Catskill/Delaware and Croton watersheds – a system of 19 reservoirs delivering roughly 1 billion gallons per day to the entire city. Queens receives the same treated supply as the rest of New York City, but the age and condition of local distribution mains and building plumbing introduce variables that citywide testing cannot capture.
New York City operates one of the few unfiltered surface water systems in the country, maintained through aggressive watershed protection rather than conventional filtration. New York State has set PFAS MCLs at 10 ppt each for PFOA and PFOS – stricter than federal standards. UCMR5 data for the city shows low-level PFAS detections, generally below state MCLs.
The bigger risk in Queens is building-level contamination. Many residential buildings in the borough have internal plumbing, fixtures, or rooftop storage tanks that can introduce lead, copper, or microbial contaminants after water leaves the city's mains. According to a 2023 NYC Health Department analysis, buildings with rooftop tanks that were not regularly inspected showed higher bacterial counts than buildings on direct pressure.
The city's supply is clean at the main – the question is what happens between the main and your tap. If you live in an older building with a rooftop water tank, point-of-use filtration is a practical precaution.
Check your water to see monitoring data for your ZIP code. A pitcher filter certified for lead reduction is a low-cost first step. Our water filter guide covers which filters address different contaminant types. Get your detailed report for local data, and see our New York page for statewide context.