Is City of Taneytown Tap Water Safe? Quality Report

Water source: Ground water
Ownership: Local government
Counties served: Carroll

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	2009-10-01 → 2009-10-31
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2009-10-01 → 2009-10-31
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2009-10-01 → 2009-10-31
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2009-10-01 → 2009-10-31
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2009-09-01 → 2009-09-30
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2009-09-01 → 2009-09-30
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2009-09-01 → 2009-09-30
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2009-09-01 → 2009-09-30
MR	Monitoring	Archived	2010-03-01 → 2010-03-31
MR	Monitoring	Archived	2010-03-01 → 2010-03-31

PFAS detected

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

Contaminant	Max	Detection rate	Period
PFBS	0.0151 µg/L	10/14	2024
PFOA	0.0046 µg/L	3/14	2024
Pfpea	0.0056 µg/L	3/14	2024
PFHXS	0.0043 µg/L	2/14	2024
PFOS	0.0107 µg/L	2/14	2024
Pfhxa	0.0045 µg/L	1/14	2024

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
Nitrate	4500 µg/L 45% of the EPA limit 10000 µg/L worst single sample: 4800 µg/L	86/86	SYR4	2012–2015
Nitrate-Nitrite	4725 µg/L 47% of the EPA limit 10000 µg/L worst single sample: 5230 µg/L	36/36	SYR4	2015–2019
1,1-Dichloroethylene	3.406 µg/L 49% of the EPA limit 7 µg/L worst single sample: 3.6 µg/L	25/62	SYR4	2012–2019
Gross Alpha, Excl. Radon And U	12.674 pCi/L 84% of the EPA limit 15 pCi/L worst single sample: 16.03 pCi/L	23/23	SYR4	2012–2019
Fluoride	326 µg/L 8.2% of the EPA limit 4000 µg/L worst single sample: 380 µg/L	19/25	SYR4	2012–2019
Barium	248 µg/L 12% of the EPA limit 2000 µg/L worst single sample: 280 µg/L	17/24	SYR4	2012–2019
Combined Radium (-226 And -228)	2.398 pCi/L 48% of the EPA limit 5 pCi/L worst single sample: 2.86 pCi/L	15/23	SYR4	2012–2019
Lead	0.0030 mg/L 20% of the EPA limit 0.0150 mg/L	14/14	LCR	2023
Tetrachloroethylene	6.015 µg/L 120% of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 5 µg/L worst single sample: 6.6 µg/L	14/55	SYR4	2012–2019
Lithium	27.7 µg/L No EPA limit set	14/14	UCMR-5	2024
Dibromochloromethane	4.0895 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 7.01 µg/L	12/35	SYR4	2012–2019
Bromodichloromethane	4.279 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 5.56 µg/L	8/34	SYR4	2012–2018
Chloroform	2.7695 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 3.13 µg/L	8/36	SYR4	2012–2019
TTHM	14.84 µg/L 19% of the EPA limit 80 µg/L worst single sample: 19.6 µg/L	8/8	SYR4	2012–2019
Combined Uranium	11.2093 µg/L 37% of the EPA limit 30 µg/L worst single sample: 12.5458 µg/L	7/7	SYR4	2012–2018
Di(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate	2.856 µg/L 48% of the EPA limit 6 µg/L worst single sample: 2.95 µg/L	5/14	SYR4	2012–2018
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)	3.056 µg/L 5.1% of the EPA limit 60 µg/L worst single sample: 3.12 µg/L	5/8	SYR4	2012–2019
Arsenic	3 µg/L 30% of the EPA limit 10 µg/L	4/25	SYR4	2012–2019
Bromoform	3.582 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 3.9 µg/L	3/34	SYR4	2012–2018
Chromium	5 µg/L 5% of the EPA limit 100 µg/L	3/23	SYR4	2012–2019
Dichloroacetic Acid	1.556 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 1.58 µg/L	2/3	SYR4	2012–2014
Carbon Tetrachloride	0.5000 µg/L 10% of the EPA limit 5 µg/L	1/62	SYR4	2012–2019
Dibromoacetic Acid	1.54 µg/L No EPA limit set	1/3	SYR4	2012–2014
Methoxychlor	0.9100 µg/L 2.3% of the EPA limit 40 µg/L	1/14	SYR4	2012–2018

73 contaminants tested, none detected

1,1,1-Trichloroethane1,1,2-Trichloroethane1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene1,2-DIBROMO-3-CHLOROPROPANE1,2-Dichloroethane1,2-Dichloropropane11Cl-PF3OUdS2,4,5-TP2,4-D4:2 Fts6:2 Fts8:2 Fts9Cl-PF3ONSAdonaAntimony, TotalAtrazineBhc-GammaBenzeneBenzo(A)PyreneBeryllium, TotalChlorobenzeneCadmiumCarbofuranChlordaneDichloromethaneDalaponDi(2-ethylhexyl) AdipateDinosebEthylene DibromideEndrinEthylbenzeneGross Beta Particle ActivityHexachlorobenzeneHfpo-DaHeptachlorHeptachlor EpoxideHexachlorocyclopentadieneLassoMercuryMonobromoacetic AcidMonochloroacetic AcidNetfosaaNfdhaNmefosaaOxamylPfbaPfdaPfdoaPfeesaPfhpaPfhpsPfmbaPfmpaPFNAPfpesPftaPftrdaPfunaPentachlorophenolPicloramSeleniumSimazineStyreneThallium, TotalTolueneTrichloroacetic AcidTrichloroethyleneVinyl ChlorideXylenes, Totalcis-1,2-DichloroethyleneO-DichlorobenzeneP-Dichlorobenzenetrans-1,2-Dichloroethylene

Utility contact

Contact: SMEAK, KEVIN
Phone: 410-751-1100
Email: [email protected]

Frequently asked questions about City of Taneytown

Is City of Taneytown tap water safe to drink?

EPA monitoring detected 30 contaminants in City of Taneytown'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 City of Taneytown's water?

EPA monitoring detected Nitrate, Nitrate-Nitrite, 1,1-Dichloroethylene, Gross Alpha, Excl. Radon And U, Fluoride, and others. The full list with the level and data source for each is above.

How many people does City of Taneytown serve?

City of Taneytown reports serving 6,750 people in Maryland, per its EPA record.

Has City of Taneytown had any water quality violations?

The EPA has 99 violations on file for City of Taneytown, 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.