# Banks O Dee, MD — Drinking Water Quality (2024)

> Contaminant levels for the Banks O Dee, MD public water system from its 2024 Consumer Confidence Report, compared to federal limits.

- Page: https://www.thewatermap.com/water/md/banks-o-dee/2024
- JSON API: https://www.thewatermap.com/api/water/md/banks-o-dee/2024
- Source: the utility's annual Consumer Confidence Report (CCR)
- Verification: transcribed by a model, cross-checked by a second model, approved before publishing
- Reporting year: 2024
- Contaminants measured: 6
- Contaminants with a federal limit: 6
- Contaminants at or above the federal limit: 1
- Part of The Water Map — https://www.thewatermap.com

## Contaminants measured

| Contaminant | Category | Measured level | Sampling context | Federal limit | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fluoride | Inorganic chemicals | 0.473 mg/L (Reported level) | System-wide | 4 mg/L (MCLG) | Within the limit |
| Arsenic | Metals | 6 ug/L (Reported level) | System-wide | 10 ug/L (MCL) | Within the limit |
| Barium | Metals | 0.00681 mg/L (Reported level) | System-wide | 2 mg/L (MCLG) | Within the limit |
| Copper | Metals | 5 mg/L (90th percentile) | At the tap | 1.3 mg/L (MCLG) | At or above the limit |
| Lead | Metals | 0 mg/L (90th percentile) | At the tap | 0 mg/L (MCLG) | Detected — no federal limit |
| Combined Radium | Radionuclides | 0.5 pCi/L (Reported level) | System-wide | 0 pCi/L (MCLG) | Detected — no federal limit |

## What these contaminants are

- **Fluoride** — A mineral often added to drinking water to help prevent tooth decay. Beneficial at low levels, but long-term exposure above the federal limit can cause bone disease and tooth mottling.
- **Arsenic** — A naturally occurring element that also enters water from industry and agriculture. A known human carcinogen; long-term exposure is linked to skin, bladder, and lung cancer.
- **Barium** — A metal from erosion of natural deposits and industrial discharge. Long-term exposure above the federal limit can raise blood pressure.
- **Copper** — A metal that enters water from corroding household plumbing. Short-term exposure causes stomach distress; long-term exposure can damage the liver and kidneys.
- **Lead** — A toxic metal that leaches into water from old service lines, solder, and plumbing fixtures. 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.
- **Combined Radium** — Combined radium-226 and radium-228 — naturally occurring radioactive elements. Long-term exposure above the federal limit increases the risk of bone cancer.

## How to read this

- A water-quality report covers an entire service area, not a single address.
- 'Federal limit' is the EPA standard (MCL, action level, treatment technique, etc.) that the measured level is compared against.
- 'At or above the federal limit' means the utility's own reported figure met or exceeded that standard.

_Figures are the utility's own published numbers. Generated 2026-05-25 from thewatermap.com._