Drinking water quality · 2024
· Verified
· PWSID LA1071001
What's in New Orleans, LA tap water
5 contaminants in New Orleans, LA's water sat at or above a federal limit, led by Chlorine Total at 12.3x the limit.
- !5 contaminants at or above a federal limit — worst is Chlorine Total at 12.3x
- !10 of 27 core regulated contaminants reported — 17 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.
- −60 contaminants at or above a federal limit
- −0 contaminants within 20% of a limit
- −0 open health-based violations
- −0 open monitoring / reporting violations
- −6 health-based violations resolved in the last 5 years
- −14 core regulated contaminants never reported (10/27)
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
- Chlorine Total12.3× the federal limit0.3–49 mg/L · limit 4 mg/L
higher than 95% of U.S. systems
- Lead1.5× the federal limit0–22 ug/L · limit 15 ug/L
There is no safe level of lead; it harms brain development in children and raises blood pressure in adults. The EPA sets an action level, not a health goal above zero.
Higher than 95% of LA systems that report it · higher than 95% of U.S. systems
- Turbidity1.4× the federal limit0.03–1.44 NTU · limit 1 NTU
High turbidity can shelter microbes from disinfection; the EPA enforces it through a treatment-technique standard.
higher than 90% of U.S. systems
- PFOS (Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid)1.1× the federal limit4.5 ng/L · limit 4 ng/L
Linked to cancer, thyroid disease, and immune effects; the EPA set an enforceable limit of 4 parts per trillion.
higher than 55% of U.S. systems
- PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid)1.0× the federal limit4 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 40% of U.S. systems
+16 contaminants were measured and came in below the limitShow all
| Contaminant | Measured | Federal limit |
|---|---|---|
| TTHM | 13–54 ug/L | 80 ug/L |
| HAA5 | 12–40 ug/L | 60 ug/L |
| Hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid | 0–5.4 ng/L | 10 ng/L |
| Fluoride | 0.46–0.9 mg/L | 4 mg/L |
| Nitrate Nitrite | 1.4 mg/L | 10 mg/L |
| Copper | 0.1 mg/L | 1.3 mg/L |
| Combined Radium | 0–0.366 pCi/L | 5 pCi/L |
| Atrazine | 0.11 ug/L | 3 ug/L |
| Simazine | 0–0.054 ug/L | 4 ug/L |
| Lithium | 0–14 ng/L | — |
| Total Coliform | 0–4.9 % | — |
| Perfluorohexanoic acid | 0–3 ng/L | — |
| Perfluoropentanoic acid | 0–8.8 ng/L | — |
| TOC | 1–1.66 | — |
| Gross Beta Particle Activity | 2.9 pCi/L | — |
| PFBA | 8.5 ng/L | — |
What this report doesn't tell you
17 of the 27 contaminants a community water system normally reports do not appear anywhere in New Orleans, LA'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 New Orleans, LA
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.
PFOS (Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid)
● Over EPA limit (1.1×)PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid)
● Over EPA limit (1.0×)PFBA
● Detected (no federal limit)Where your water comes from · EPA SDWIS
New Orleans, LA's drinking water comes from surface water, drawn from 2 sources.
Source
- NEW INTAKE DOWNSTREAM
- SURFACE WATER RAW INTAKE
Treatment
- SURFACE WATER TREATMENT PLANT
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-based9 violations on record · most recent Jan 2025resolved
Source: EPA SDWIS / ECHO. View the full federal record on EPA ECHO ↗