See The Latest 'Tap Water Database' Results For New Hope

NEW HOPE, PA — A report released Wednesday by the Environmental Working Group says there are contaminants in harmful levels in drinking water sources across Pennsylvania, including those in New Hope.

The specifics are outlined in the nonprofit Environmental Working Group's updated Tap Water Database. The database is complied by collaborating with outside scientists, and using aggregated and analyzed data from almost 50,000 local water utilities.

Read more on the Environmental Working Group’s data sources and methodology.

According to the updated database, water from the BCWSA New Hope contains nine contaminants that exceed the group's health guidelines, which are different from those mandated by the government. The water source serves 3,017 people.

View the full EWG "Tap Water Database" report for BCWSA New Hope.

The local water complies with EPA standards, but the EWG says there is a troubling discrepancy between the current legal limits for contaminants and the most recent authoritative studies of what is safe to consume.

“Legal does not necessarily equal safe,” Sydney Evans, a science analyst at the environmental group, told Patch.

“A lot of these legal limits are outdated and not necessarily the safe level, and the EWG really wants to fill that gap,” Evans said. “The federal government has not been able to, or is not willing to, set those new regulations to protect public health. We’re trying to fill the gap to let people know, based on the latest science, what the safe levels of contaminants in water are.”