Is Philadelphia Water Department Tap Water Safe? Quality Report

Water source: Surface water
Ownership: Local government
Counties served: Philadelphia

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

132

violations on file

still open

Violation	Type	Status	Period
TT	Health-based	Resolved	2010-11-01 → 2010-11-30
TT	Health-based	Resolved	2010-11-01 → 2010-11-30
TT	Health-based	Resolved	2010-11-01 → 2010-11-30
TT	Health-based	Resolved	2010-11-01 → 2010-11-30
TT	Health-based	Resolved	2010-09-01 → 2010-09-30
TT	Health-based	Resolved	2010-09-01 → 2010-09-30
TT	Health-based	Resolved	2010-09-01 → 2010-09-30
TT	Health-based	Resolved	2010-09-01 → 2010-09-30
TT	Health-based	Resolved	2007-07-01 → 2007-07-31
TT	Health-based	Resolved	2007-07-01 → 2007-07-31

PFAS detected

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

Contaminant	Max	Detection rate	Period
Pfhxa	0.0091 µg/L	10/12	2024
Pfpea	0.0099 µg/L	9/12	2024
PFOA	0.0081 µg/L	8/12	2024
PFBS	0.0100 µg/L	7/12	2024
PFOS	0.0060 µg/L	6/12	2024
Pfba	0.0076 µg/L	4/12	2024
Pfhpa	0.0033 µg/L	4/12	2024
PFNA	0.0045 µg/L	2/12	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
TTHM	78.92 µg/L 99% of the EPA limit 80 µg/L worst single sample: 145 µg/L	1609/1609	SYR4	2012–2019
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)	58 µg/L 97% of the EPA limit 60 µg/L worst single sample: 136 µg/L	1556/1557	SYR4	2012–2019
Nitrate	4042 µg/L 40% of the EPA limit 10000 µg/L worst single sample: 5040 µg/L	588/588	SYR4	2012–2019
Bromodichloromethane	21 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 25.8 µg/L	536/536	SYR4	2013–2019
Chloroform	57.06 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 99.1 µg/L	535/535	SYR4	2013–2019
Dibromochloromethane	9 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 16.1 µg/L	480/534	SYR4	2013–2019
Copper	332.9 µg/L 26% of the EPA limit 1300 µg/L worst single sample: 2712 µg/L	343/343	SYR4	2012–2019
Dichloroacetic Acid	21.72 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 28 µg/L	263/263	SYR4	2018–2019
Trichloroacetic Acid	33.82 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 40.6 µg/L	263/263	SYR4	2018–2019
Monochloroacetic Acid	8 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 10.1 µg/L	172/263	SYR4	2018–2019
Lead	32.2 µg/L 215% of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 15 µg/L worst single sample: 576 µg/L	165/322	SYR4	2014–2019
Bromoform	2.025 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 2.7 µg/L	92/532	SYR4	2013–2019
Dibromoacetic Acid	2.0895 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 2.5 µg/L	88/263	SYR4	2018–2019
Monobromoacetic Acid	1 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 1.03 µg/L	49/263	SYR4	2018–2019
Barium	51.55 µg/L 2.6% of the EPA limit 2000 µg/L worst single sample: 62 µg/L	30/30	SYR4	2012–2019
Fluoride	758 µg/L 19% of the EPA limit 4000 µg/L worst single sample: 784 µg/L	24/24	SYR4	2012–2019
Lead	0.0020 mg/L 13% of the EPA limit 0.0150 mg/L	12/12	LCR	2025
Chromium	2.6 µg/L 2.6% of the EPA limit 100 µg/L worst single sample: 3 µg/L	9/30	SYR4	2012–2019
Atrazine	0.5250 µg/L 18% of the EPA limit 3 µg/L worst single sample: 0.6000 µg/L	6/30	SYR4	2012–2019
Antimony, Total	0.4800 µg/L 8% of the EPA limit 6 µg/L worst single sample: 0.5000 µg/L	5/30	SYR4	2012–2019
2,4-D	0.6950 µg/L 1% of the EPA limit 70 µg/L worst single sample: 0.7000 µg/L	2/31	SYR4	2012–2019
Cyanide	35.35 µg/L 18% of the EPA limit 200 µg/L worst single sample: 36 µg/L	2/24	SYR4	2012–2019

79 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-TP4:2 Fts6:2 Fts8:2 Fts9Cl-PF3ONSAdonaArsenicBhc-GammaBenzeneBenzo(A)PyreneBeryllium, TotalChlorobenzeneCadmiumCarbofuranCarbon TetrachlorideChlordaneCombined UraniumDichloromethaneDalaponDi(2-ethylhexyl) AdipateDi(2-ethylhexyl) PhthalateDinosebDiquatEthylene DibromideEndothallEndrinEthylbenzeneGlyphosateHexachlorobenzeneHfpo-DaHeptachlorHeptachlor EpoxideHexachlorocyclopentadieneLassoMercuryMethoxychlorNetfosaaNfdhaNmefosaaNitriteOxamylPfdaPfdoaPfeesaPfhpsPFHXSPfmbaPfmpaPfpesPftaPftrdaPfunaPentachlorophenolPicloramSeleniumSimazineStyreneTetrachloroethyleneThallium, TotalTolueneTotal Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB)ToxapheneTrichloroethyleneVinyl ChlorideXylenes, Totalcis-1,2-DichloroethyleneLithiumO-DichlorobenzeneP-Dichlorobenzenetrans-1,2-Dichloroethylene

Utility contact

Contact: LINDA KRAMER
Phone: 215-685-6257

Frequently asked questions about Philadelphia Water Department

Is Philadelphia Water Department tap water safe to drink?

EPA monitoring detected 30 contaminants in Philadelphia Water Department'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 Philadelphia Water Department's water?

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

How many people does Philadelphia Water Department serve?

Philadelphia Water Department reports serving 1,600,000 people in Pennsylvania, per its EPA record.

Has Philadelphia Water Department had any water quality violations?

The EPA has 132 violations on file for Philadelphia Water Department, of which 23 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.