Drinking water quality · 2023
· Verified
· PWSID PA1510001
What's in Philadelphia, PA tap water
4 contaminants in Philadelphia, PA's water sat at or above a federal limit, led by Gross Alpha at 15.2x the limit.
- !4 contaminants at or above a federal limit — worst is Gross Alpha at 15.2x
- !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.
- −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
- −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
- Gross Alpha15.2× the federal limit228 pCi/L · limit 15 pCi/L
Long-term exposure above the federal limit increases cancer risk.
higher than 95% of U.S. systems
- Uranium7.5× the federal limit226 ug/L · limit 30 ug/L
Long-term exposure above the federal limit can damage the kidneys and increase cancer risk.
higher than 95% of U.S. systems
- PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid)2.0× the federal limit8.1 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
- PFOS (Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid)1.5× the federal limit6 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 65% of U.S. systems
+26 contaminants were measured and came in below the limitShow all
| Contaminant | Measured | Federal limit |
|---|---|---|
| HAA5 | 43 ug/L | 60 ug/L |
| TTHM | 51 ug/L | 80 ug/L |
| Nitrate | 4.52 mg/L | 10 mg/L |
| PFNA (Perfluorononanoic acid) | 4.5 ng/L | 10 ng/L |
| Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid | 1.9 ng/L | 10 ng/L |
| Copper | 0.219 mg/L | 1.3 mg/L |
| Fluoride | 0.624 mg/L | 4 mg/L |
| Lead | 2 ug/L | 15 ug/L |
| Antimony | 0.0006 mg/L | 0.006 mg/L |
| Barium | 0.046 mg/L | 2 mg/L |
| Chromium | 2 ug/L | 100 ug/L |
| Chloride | 61–161 mg/L | — |
| Sulfate | 18.2–62 mg/L | — |
| Iron | 0–0.023 mg/L | — |
| Escherichia coli (E. coli) | 0 % | 0 % |
| Total Coliform | 2.4 % | 0 % |
| Dichloroethane 12 | 111 | — |
| Hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid | 0 ng/L | 10 ng/L |
| pH | 7.1–7.3 | — |
| Total Dissolved Solids | 216–471 mg/L | — |
| Benzene | 12 | — |
| PFHxA | 9.1 ng/L | — |
| PFBA | 7.6 ng/L | — |
| PFPeA | 9.9 ng/L | — |
| PFBS | 10 ng/L | — |
| PFHpA | 3.3 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 Philadelphia, PA'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 Philadelphia, PA
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.
PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid)
● Over EPA limit (2.0×)PFOS (Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid)
● Over EPA limit (1.5×)PFNA (Perfluorononanoic acid)
● Below limitPFHxA
● Detected (no federal limit)PFBA
● Detected (no federal limit)PFPeA
● Detected (no federal limit)PFBS
● Detected (no federal limit)PFHpA
● Detected (no federal limit)Where your water comes from · EPA SDWIS
Philadelphia, PA's drinking water comes from surface water, drawn from 3 sources.
Source
- DELAWARE RIVER
- SCHUYLKILL RIVER B
- SCHUYLKILL RIVER Q
Treatment
- BAXTER
- BELMONT
- QUEEN LANE
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-based12 violations on record · most recent Nov 2010resolved
Source: EPA SDWIS / ECHO. View the full federal record on EPA ECHO ↗