Drinking water quality · 2024
· Verified
· PWSID IN5271014
What's in South Bend, IN tap water
2 contaminants in South Bend, IN's water sat at or above a federal limit, led by PFHxS (Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid) at 2.6x the limit.
- !2 contaminants at or above a federal limit — worst is PFHxS (Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid) at 2.6x
- !13 of 27 core regulated contaminants reported — 14 never appear in this report
- ✓No open federal violations
+How this score is calculated
Every system starts at 100. Points come off for measured levels, for the federal violation record, and for how much of the core regulated set the utility actually reported. All three inputs are the utility's own published numbers and EPA's own records.
- −56 contaminants at or above a federal limit
- −0 contaminants within 20% of a limit
- −0 open health-based violations
- −0 open monitoring / reporting violations
- −0 health-based violations resolved in the last 5 years
- −9 core regulated contaminants never reported (13/27)
A 90–100 · B 80–89 · C 70–79 · D 60–69 · F below 60. A system reporting under a third of the core set is capped at C however clean its numbers look — a short report is not a clean bill of health.
Full grading methodology, constant for constant →What to worry about
- PFHxS (Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid)2.6× the federal limit25.6 ng/L · limit 10 ng/L
Regulated by the EPA at 10 parts per trillion and included in the PFAS Hazard Index.
higher than 90% of U.S. systems
- PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid)2.5× the federal limit10 ng/L · limit 4 ng/L
Linked to cancer, liver damage, and immune effects; the EPA set an enforceable limit of 4 parts per trillion.
higher than 85% of U.S. systems
+23 contaminants were measured and came in below the limitShow all
| Contaminant | Measured | Federal limit |
|---|---|---|
| TTHM | 29.8 ug/L | 80 ug/L |
| Lead | 4.1 ug/L | 15 ug/L |
| Chlorine Free | 1 mg/L | 4 mg/L |
| Nitrate | 2 mg/L | 10 mg/L |
| Fluoride | 0.7 mg/L | 4 mg/L |
| Combined Radium | 0.86 pCi/L | 5 pCi/L |
| Copper | 0.174 mg/L | 1.3 mg/L |
| Gross Alpha | 1.36 pCi/L | 15 pCi/L |
| HAA5 | 3.7 ug/L | 60 ug/L |
| Barium | 0.1 mg/L | 2 mg/L |
| Cis Dichloroethylene 12 | 1.1 ug/L | 70 ug/L |
| Chromium | 1.3 ug/L | 100 ug/L |
| Arsenic | Not detected ug/L | 10 ug/L |
| Nickel | Not detected ug/L | — |
| Escherichia coli (E. coli) | 0 | 0 |
| Total Coliform | 5 % | 0 % |
| Trichloroethylene | Not detected ug/L | 5 ug/L |
| PFHxA | 20.8 ng/L | — |
| PFHpA | 8.3 ng/L | — |
| PFPeS | 0.0072 µg/L | — |
| PFBS | 8.7 ng/L | — |
| PFBA | 23.2 ng/L | — |
| PFPeA | 39.699999999999996 ng/L | — |
What this report doesn't tell you
14 of the 27 contaminants a community water system normally reports do not appear anywhere in South Bend, IN's data. Absent is not the same as absent-from-the-water — it means nobody published a number.
+Full detail: PFAS testing, water source, historical monitoring, and the federal violation record
PFAS — EPA UCMR5 (2023–2025)
2 PFAS compounds above EPA limits in South Bend, IN
The EPA finalized the first-ever federal drinking-water limits for six PFAS compounds in April 2024. These numbers come straight from EPA's UCMR5 lab dataset — every U.S. system serving more than 3,300 people tested every PFAS sample at an entry point to its distribution system. PFAS not listed below were either tested and not detected, or not yet sampled.
PFHxS (Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid)
● Over EPA limit (2.6×)PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid)
● Over EPA limit (2.5×)PFHxA
● Detected (no federal limit)PFHpA
● Detected (no federal limit)PFPeS
● Detected (no federal limit)PFBS
● Detected (no federal limit)PFBA
● Detected (no federal limit)PFPeA
● Detected (no federal limit)Where your water comes from · EPA SDWIS
South Bend, IN's drinking water comes from ground water, drawn from 29 sources.
Source
- WELL #36 - CLEVELAND NORTH
- WELL #35 - CLEVELAND NORTH
- WELL #34 - EDISON
- WELL #40 - SOUTH STATION
- + 25 more
Treatment
- TREATMENT PLANT #11 - CLEVELAND NORTH
- TREATMENT PLANT #10 - SOUTH
- TREATMENT PLANT #2 - CARRIAGE
- + 6 more
Distribution
Compliance history
Federal Safe Drinking Water Act violation & enforcement records (EPA SDWIS). A violation is a regulatory determination by the state or EPA — separate from the measured levels above.
- Treatment technique violationHealth-based3 violations on record · most recent Oct 1996resolved
- Maximum contaminant level exceededHealth-based1 violation on record · most recent May 2000resolved
Source: EPA SDWIS / ECHO. View the full federal record on EPA ECHO ↗