Is Burlington Municipal Waterworks Tap Water Safe? Quality Report

Water source: Surface water
Ownership: Local government
Counties served: Des Moines

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
TT	Health-based	Resolved	2019-01-01 → 2019-01-31
TT	Health-based	Resolved	2019-01-01 → 2019-01-31
TT	Health-based	Resolved	2019-01-01 → 2019-01-31
TT	Health-based	Resolved	2019-01-01 → 2019-01-31
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	1996-08-01 → 1996-08-31
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	1996-08-01 → 1996-08-31
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	1996-08-01 → 1996-08-31
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	1996-08-01 → 1996-08-31

PFAS detected

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

Contaminant	Max	Detection rate	Period
Pfba	0.0180 µg/L	4/4	2025
Pfpea	0.0062 µg/L	3/4	2025
PFBS	0.0062 µg/L	1/4	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
Bromodichloromethane	14.065 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 14.7 µg/L	128/128	SYR4	2012–2019
Chloroform	82.195 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 92.1 µg/L	128/128	SYR4	2012–2019
Dichloroacetic Acid	28.365 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 43.4 µg/L	128/128	SYR4	2012–2019
TTHM	94.555 µg/L 118% of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 80 µg/L worst single sample: 104 µg/L	128/128	SYR4	2012–2019
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)	40.865 µg/L 68% of the EPA limit 60 µg/L worst single sample: 59.7 µg/L	128/128	SYR4	2012–2019
Trichloroacetic Acid	9.9985 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 12.2 µg/L	128/128	SYR4	2012–2019
Dibromochloromethane	3.44 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 4.19 µg/L	126/128	SYR4	2012–2019
Copper	26.625 µg/L 2% of the EPA limit 1300 µg/L worst single sample: 115 µg/L	86/90	SYR4	2013–2019
Monochloroacetic Acid	11.86 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 16 µg/L	78/128	SYR4	2012–2019
Dibromoacetic Acid	1.672 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 1.97 µg/L	73/128	SYR4	2012–2019
Nitrate	5415 µg/L 54% of the EPA limit 10000 µg/L worst single sample: 6500 µg/L	68/68	SYR4	2012–2019
Lead	87.31 µg/L 582% of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 15 µg/L worst single sample: 433 µg/L	19/90	SYR4	2013–2019
Lead	0.0010 mg/L 6.7% of the EPA limit 0.0150 mg/L	13/13	LCR	2025
Toluene	1.829 µg/L 0.2% of the EPA limit 1000 µg/L worst single sample: 2 µg/L	10/22	SYR4	2012–2019
Monobromoacetic Acid	25.67 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 26 µg/L	7/128	SYR4	2012–2019
Bromoform	0.6970 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 0.7000 µg/L	4/128	SYR4	2012–2019
Lithium	14 µg/L No EPA limit set	4/4	UCMR-5	2025
Barium	21.85 µg/L 1.1% of the EPA limit 2000 µg/L worst single sample: 22.1 µg/L	2/2	SYR4	2014–2018
Fluoride	695 µg/L 17% of the EPA limit 4000 µg/L worst single sample: 700 µg/L	2/2	SYR4	2014–2018
Atrazine	0.1700 µg/L 5.7% of the EPA limit 3 µg/L	1/3	SYR4	2012–2018

68 contaminants tested, none detected

1,1,1-Trichloroethane1,1,2-Trichloroethane1,1-Dichloroethylene1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene1,2-Dichloroethane1,2-Dichloropropane11Cl-PF3OUdS2,4,5-TP2,4-D4:2 Fts6:2 Fts8:2 Fts9Cl-PF3ONSAdonaAntimony, TotalArsenicBenzeneBenzo(A)PyreneBeryllium, TotalChlorobenzeneCyanideCadmiumCarbon TetrachlorideChromiumDichloromethaneDalaponDi(2-ethylhexyl) AdipateDi(2-ethylhexyl) PhthalateDinosebDiquatEthylbenzeneGlyphosateHfpo-DaLassoMercuryNetfosaaNfdhaNmefosaaPfdaPfdoaPfeesaPfhpaPfhpsPfhxaPFHXSPfmbaPfmpaPFNAPFOAPFOSPfpesPftaPftrdaPfunaPentachlorophenolPicloramSeleniumSimazineStyreneTetrachloroethyleneThallium, TotalTrichloroethyleneVinyl ChlorideXylenes, Totalcis-1,2-DichloroethyleneO-DichlorobenzeneP-Dichlorobenzenetrans-1,2-Dichloroethylene

Utility contact

Contact: BURLINGTON MUNICIPAL WATERWORKS
Phone: 319-752-7611
Email: [email protected]

Frequently asked questions about Burlington Municipal Waterworks

Is Burlington Municipal Waterworks tap water safe to drink?

EPA monitoring detected 23 contaminants in Burlington Municipal Waterworks'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 Burlington Municipal Waterworks's water?

EPA monitoring detected Bromodichloromethane, Chloroform, Dichloroacetic Acid, TTHM, Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5), and others. The full list with the level and data source for each is above.

How many people does Burlington Municipal Waterworks serve?

Burlington Municipal Waterworks reports serving 26,015 people in Iowa, per its EPA record.

Has Burlington Municipal Waterworks had any water quality violations?

The EPA has 8 violations on file for Burlington Municipal Waterworks, of which 8 are 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.