Water filter service in Brooklyn, NY

What is in the water in Brooklyn

Brooklyn is served by New York City Department of Environmental Protection .

Source water: The Catskill and Delaware watersheds, with the Croton system as a supplemental supply. The wider system draws on 19 reservoirs and three controlled lakes across a watershed of nearly 2,000 square miles, reaching up to 125 miles north of the city. Reported by New York City Department of Environmental Protection for 2025.

New York City uses free chlorine as its residual disinfectant rather than chloramine. That matters when choosing a filter, because free chlorine is removed readily by standard activated carbon, where chloramine needs a longer contact time or a catalytic carbon media. Fluoride is added at approximately 0.7 mg/L.

Reported hardness is 1.8 grains per gallon , which is moderate. Source: New York City Department of Environmental Protection, 2025. Citywide average. Catskill and Delaware water is soft to slightly hard, Croton water is moderately hard, and blended areas can reach around 7 grains per gallon. Softening is rarely warranted on this supply.

These figures describe the distribution system. Your own tap can differ, and for lead it very likely does.

We do not yet hold a sourced figure for every field on this page. Where something is missing it is left blank rather than estimated, because an unsourced number here would look like information.

Buildings and plumbing in Brooklyn

City records identify roughly 121,100 known lead or galvanised service lines across New York City. In the city the property owner owns the service line in its entirety, and replacement typically costs between 5,000 and 10,000 dollars where it is not covered by a programme. DEP publishes a searchable service line map so you can check the recorded material for your own address, and a record shown as unknown should be treated as lead until it is verified.

PFAS in Brooklyn

New York State sets maximum contaminant levels of 10 parts per trillion each for PFOA and PFOS, which are among the stricter state standards in the country. The Catskill and Delaware surface supply that serves most of the city has historically reported non-detect for these compounds. Check the current annual report before treating for PFAS on this supply.

Source: New York State Department of Health, 2024. More on confirming and treating this on our PFAS page.

What this means in practice

• Hard water. Confirm with hardness test strip or titration kit, in grains per gallon.
• Chlorine and chloramine taste. Confirm with free and total chlorine test strip, plus the utility report for the disinfectant type.
• Lead in drinking water. Confirm with certified laboratory analysis of a first-draw tap sample.
• PFAS. Confirm with certified laboratory analysis using an epa-approved pfas method.

What these figures mean for filter choice

At around 1.8 grains per gallon this is soft water. A softener here would be solving a problem you do not have, and we would tell you so rather than quote for one. Scale is not what is shortening your water heater's life in Brooklyn.

Because the disinfectant here is chloramine rather than free chlorine, filter choice matters more than usual. Chloramine needs a longer contact time than standard activated carbon gives it, and catalytic carbon performs considerably better at the same cartridge size. A filter sized for free chlorine is the most common reason people conclude that filters do not work.

Lead is a plumbing question rather than a supply question in Brooklyn, as it is everywhere. What that means practically is that a filter certified under NSF/ANSI 53 for lead at the tap you drink from sits downstream of the entire problem, whereas a whole-house filter at the point of entry sits upstream of nearly all of it and costs several times more.

Filters that apply here

• Lead reduction filters. Point-of-use filters certified for lead under NSF/ANSI 53.
• PFAS reduction systems. Reverse osmosis or a certified activated carbon system aimed at per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
• Under-sink carbon filters. A carbon block cartridge on the cold line under the sink.
• Reverse osmosis, tank. A membrane system under the sink that produces treated water to a dedicated tap and stores it in a small pressure tank.
• Whole-house filtration. A filter plumbed into the main line where water enters the building, so every tap, shower, and appliance downstream is fed treated water.

Installation in Brooklyn

• Free water testing. Typically 45 to 60 minutes.
• Whole-house filter installation. Typically 3 to 5 hours.
• Under-sink reverse osmosis installation. Typically 2 to 4 hours.
• Repair, any brand. Typically 1 to 3 hours.

Renters, co-ops, and businesses

• Options for renters
• Co-ops and condos
• Offices and commercial sites

Local programmes

• Free lead test kit. DEP supplies a free lead testing kit with instructions and a pre-paid shipping label. Results are returned within about 30 days. Request one by calling 311.
• Lead Service Line Replacement Program. Free replacement of private lead service lines in targeted neighbourhoods, backed by state and federal funding. Work is scheduled to reach Borough Park in Brooklyn from 2027. Eligible owners are contacted directly by DEP. Replacement is also free citywide when a lead line is found during water main work.

Nearby areas

• Manhattan, NY , New York County
• Queens, NY , Queens County
• Bronx, NY , Bronx County
• Staten Island, NY , Richmond County
• Mount Vernon, NY , Westchester County

Sources

• New York City Department of Environmental Protection, 2025.
• New York City Department of Environmental Protection, 2026.
• New York State Department of Health, 2024.
• Population: US Census Bureau sub-county population estimates, Vintage 2024 (POPESTIMATE2024).