Is Palm Beach County Water Utilities Tap Water Safe? Quality Report

Water source: Ground water
Ownership: Local government
Counties served: Palm Beach

Compliance record

Formal violations the EPA has on file for this supplier. A health-based violation means a contaminant limit or a required treatment was breached; the rest are monitoring or reporting failures — still violations, but not a measured health risk.

health-based violations

violations on file

still open

Violation	Type	Status	Period
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2023-12-01 → 2023-12-31
RPT	Monitoring	Resolved	2024-05-01
MON	Monitoring	Resolved	2024-02-01 → 2024-02-29
RPT	Monitoring	Resolved	2023-12-01
MR	Monitoring	Resolved	2015-05-01 → 2015-05-31
MR	Monitoring	Resolved	2015-02-01 → 2015-02-28
MR	Monitoring	Resolved	2015-02-01 → 2015-02-28
MR	Monitoring	Resolved	2015-02-01 → 2015-02-28
MR	Monitoring	Resolved	2015-02-01 → 2015-02-28
MR	Monitoring	Resolved	2014-05-01

PFAS detected

PFAS are industrial “forever chemicals”. These are the EPA's latest nationwide test results (2023–2025).

Contaminant	Max	Detection rate	Period
PFBS	0.0061 µg/L	4/8	2025
Pfhxa	0.0065 µg/L	4/8	2025
PFHXS	0.0064 µg/L	4/8	2025
PFOA	0.0090 µg/L	4/8	2025
PFOS	0.0200 µg/L	4/8	2025
Pfpea	0.0077 µg/L	4/8	2025
Pfhpa	0.0031 µg/L	2/8	2025
6:2 Fts	0.0130 µg/L	1/8	2025
Pfba	0.0050 µg/L	1/8	2025

Other contaminants detected

Each bar shows the measured level as a share of the EPA limit: green is well under, amber is close to it, red is over. For lead and copper the limit applies to exactly the 90th-percentile figure shown, so red there means a real exceedance. For everything else the limit applies to a running annual average while the figure is the 95th percentile of this system's samples — over 100% is worth reading, but is not by itself a violation. Where a single sample came in higher than that percentile, it is noted under the bar. Formal violations are listed separately.

Contaminant	Level vs EPA limit	Detection rate	Source	Period
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)	47.08 µg/L 78% of the EPA limit 60 µg/L worst single sample: 104.64 µg/L	307/308	SYR4	2012–2019
TTHM	82.85 µg/L 104% of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 80 µg/L worst single sample: 264.95 µg/L	306/307	SYR4	2012–2019
Nitrate	530 µg/L 5.3% of the EPA limit 10000 µg/L worst single sample: 680 µg/L	56/64	SYR4	2012–2019
Fluoride	828 µg/L 21% of the EPA limit 4000 µg/L worst single sample: 840 µg/L	40/40	SYR4	2012–2017
Barium	7.15 µg/L 0.4% of the EPA limit 2000 µg/L worst single sample: 8.9 µg/L	23/24	SYR4	2012–2017
Lead	0.0014 mg/L 9.3% of the EPA limit 0.0150 mg/L	22/22	LCR	2023
Nitrite	41.5 µg/L 4.2% of the EPA limit 1000 µg/L worst single sample: 50 µg/L	18/32	SYR4	2012–2019
Copper	33.26 µg/L 2.6% of the EPA limit 1300 µg/L worst single sample: 36.2 µg/L	15/16	SYR4	2014–2017
Chromium	2.54 µg/L 2.5% of the EPA limit 100 µg/L worst single sample: 2.6 µg/L	4/24	SYR4	2012–2017
Di(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate	0.7085 µg/L 12% of the EPA limit 6 µg/L worst single sample: 0.7400 µg/L	4/30	SYR4	2014–2019
Chlorobenzene	0.5730 µg/L 0.6% of the EPA limit 100 µg/L worst single sample: 0.5900 µg/L	2/20	SYR4	2014–2019
Cyanide	5.6 µg/L 2.8% of the EPA limit 200 µg/L	1/24	SYR4	2012–2017
Combined Uranium	0.2593 µg/L 0.9% of the EPA limit 30 µg/L	1/16	SYR4	2014–2017
Mercury	0.2000 µg/L 10% of the EPA limit 2 µg/L	1/24	SYR4	2012–2017
Oxamyl	0.4800 µg/L 0.2% of the EPA limit 200 µg/L	1/23	SYR4	2014–2017
Picloram	0.0940 µg/L 0% of the EPA limit 500 µg/L	1/23	SYR4	2014–2017

77 contaminants tested, none detected

1,1,1-Trichloroethane1,1,2-Trichloroethane1,1-Dichloroethylene1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene1,2-DIBROMO-3-CHLOROPROPANE1,2-Dichloroethane1,2-Dichloropropane11Cl-PF3OUdS2,3,7,8-TCDD2,4,5-TP2,4-D4:2 Fts8:2 Fts9Cl-PF3ONSAdonaAntimony, TotalArsenicAsbestosAtrazineBhc-GammaBenzeneBenzo(A)PyreneBeryllium, TotalCadmiumCarbofuranCarbon TetrachlorideChlordaneDichloromethaneDalaponDi(2-ethylhexyl) AdipateDinosebDiquatEthylene DibromideEndothallEndrinEthylbenzeneGlyphosateGross Alpha, Excl. Radon And UHexachlorobenzeneHfpo-DaHeptachlorHeptachlor EpoxideHexachlorocyclopentadieneLassoLeadMethoxychlorNetfosaaNfdhaNmefosaaPfdaPfdoaPfeesaPfhpsPfmbaPfmpaPFNAPfpesPftaPftrdaPfunaPentachlorophenolSeleniumSimazineStyreneTetrachloroethyleneThallium, TotalTolueneTotal Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB)ToxapheneTrichloroethyleneVinyl ChlorideXylenes, Totalcis-1,2-DichloroethyleneLithiumO-DichlorobenzeneP-Dichlorobenzenetrans-1,2-Dichloroethylene

Utility contact

Contact: P.B.COUNTY WATER UTILITIES DEP
Phone: 561-493-6000

Frequently asked questions about Palm Beach County Water Utilities

Is Palm Beach County Water Utilities tap water safe to drink?

EPA monitoring detected 25 contaminants in Palm Beach County Water Utilities's water. A detection isn't the same as a violation — most levels are within federal limits. See each level and source above, and the utility's annual Consumer Confidence Report for its official compliance status.

What contaminants were detected in Palm Beach County Water Utilities's water?

EPA monitoring detected Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5), TTHM, Nitrate, Fluoride, Barium, and others. The full list with the level and data source for each is above.

How many people does Palm Beach County Water Utilities serve?

Palm Beach County Water Utilities reports serving 671,114 people in Florida, per its EPA record.

Has Palm Beach County Water Utilities had any water quality violations?

The EPA has 36 violations on file for Palm Beach County Water Utilities, of which 1 is health-based (a contaminant limit or required treatment was breached) and 0 remain open. The rest are monitoring or reporting failures.

Where does this data come from?

Every figure is official EPA drinking-water monitoring — the Lead & Copper Rule, the UCMR-5 nationwide testing program, and the EPA Six-Year Review — not our own testing. Each number is labelled with its source and period.