Drinking water quality · 2024
· Verified
· PWSID PA5020038
What's in Pittsburgh, PA tap water
Only 8 of 27 core regulated contaminants were reported for Pittsburgh, PA. What was measured is not clean — but most of the picture is missing.
- !4 contaminants at or above a federal limit — worst is Chlorine at 26.0x
- !8 of 27 core regulated contaminants reported — 19 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
- −17 core regulated contaminants never reported (8/27)
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
- Chlorine26.0× the federal limit104 mg/L · limit 4 mg/L
Effective and necessary, but high residual levels can cause taste and odor issues; the EPA caps the residual disinfectant level.
higher than 95% of U.S. systems
- Fluoride25.3× the federal limit101 mg/L · limit 4 mg/L
Beneficial at low levels, but long-term exposure above the federal limit can cause bone disease and tooth mottling.
higher than 95% of U.S. systems
- Nitrate10.1× the federal limit101 mg/L · limit 10 mg/L
Levels above the federal limit can cause 'blue baby syndrome,' a serious oxygen-transport condition in infants.
higher than 95% of U.S. systems
- TTHM1.5× the federal limit17–119 ug/L · limit 80 ug/L
Long-term exposure above the federal limit is linked to liver, kidney, and central-nervous-system effects and increased cancer risk.
higher than 95% of U.S. systems
+7 contaminants were measured and came in below the limitShow all
| Contaminant | Measured | Federal limit |
|---|---|---|
| HAA5 | 12–34 ug/L | 60 ug/L |
| Chlorine Free | 1.11 mg/L | 4 mg/L |
| Lead | 3.6 ug/L | 15 ug/L |
| Turbidity | 0.107 NTU | 1 NTU |
| Copper | 0.11 mg/L | 1.3 mg/L |
| Calcium | 18–38 mg/L | — |
| Iron | 101 mg/L | — |
What this report doesn't tell you
19 of the 27 contaminants a community water system normally reports do not appear anywhere in Pittsburgh, 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
Where your water comes from · EPA SDWIS
Pittsburgh, PA's drinking water comes from surface water, drawn from 1 source.
Source
- ALLEGHENY RIV MP 8#2
Treatment
- HIGHLAND #2 RES BSTR
- PITTSBURGH WTP
- LANPHER RESERVOIR
- + 7 more
Distribution
Also buys water from PA AMER WATER CO-PITTSBURGH.
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 Jul 2018resolved
Source: EPA SDWIS / ECHO. View the full federal record on EPA ECHO ↗