Drinking water quality · 2024
· Verified
· PWSID TX0570004
What's in Dallas, TX tap water
2 contaminants in Dallas, TX's water sat at or above a federal limit, led by PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid) at 1.6x the limit.
- !2 contaminants at or above a federal limit — worst is PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid) at 1.6x
- !11 of 27 core regulated contaminants reported — 16 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.
- −36 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
- −13 core regulated contaminants never reported (11/27)
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
- PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid)1.6× the federal limit6.3 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 80% of U.S. systems
- PFOS (Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid)1.3× the federal limit5.1000000000000005 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
+38 contaminants were measured and came in below the limitShow all
| Contaminant | Measured | Federal limit |
|---|---|---|
| Chlorine Total | 2.97 mg/L | 4 mg/L |
| PFHxS (Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid) | 3.8 ng/L | 10 ng/L |
| Copper | 0.39 mg/L | 1.3 mg/L |
| HAA5 | 17 ug/L | 60 ug/L |
| Cyanide | 54 ug/L | 200 ug/L |
| Fluoride | 0.629 mg/L | 4 mg/L |
| Bromate | 1.12 ug/L | 10 ug/L |
| Nitrate | 0.834 mg/L | 10 mg/L |
| Lead | 0.00109 mg/L | 0.015 mg/L |
| Mercury | 0.08 ug/L | 2 ug/L |
| Atrazine | 0.08 ug/L | 3 ug/L |
| Barium | 0.04 mg/L | 2 mg/L |
| Simazine | 0.06 ug/L | 4 ug/L |
| Nitrite | 0.006 mg/L | 1 mg/L |
| Bromodichloromethane | 8 ug/L | — |
| Bromoform | 0.8 ug/L | — |
| Chloroform | 10.22 ug/L | — |
| Dibromochloromethane | 4.9 ug/L | — |
| Aluminum | 0.006 mg/L | — |
| Lithium | Not detected ng/L | — |
| Manganese | 2.7 ug/L | — |
| Total Coliform | 1.3 % | — |
| Hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid | Not detected ng/L | 10 ng/L |
| Perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) | Not detected ng/L | — |
| Perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoA) | Not detected ng/L | — |
| Perfluoroheptanesulfonic acid (PFHpS) | Not detected ng/L | — |
| Perfluoropentanesulfonic acid (PFPeS) | Not detected ng/L | — |
| Perfluorotetradecanoic acid (PFTeDA) | Not detected ng/L | — |
| Perfluorotridecanoic acid (PFTrDA) | Not detected ng/L | — |
| Perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnA) | Not detected ng/L | — |
| PFAS | Not detected ng/L | — |
| TOC | 3.27 mg/L | — |
| Gross Beta Particle Activity | 5.7 pCi/L | — |
| PFHpA | 6 ng/L | — |
| PFHxA | 17.9 ng/L | — |
| PFBS | 7.6 ng/L | — |
| PFBA | 13.2 ng/L | — |
| PFPeA | 18.2 ng/L | — |
What this report doesn't tell you
16 of the 27 contaminants a community water system normally reports do not appear anywhere in Dallas, TX'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 Dallas, TX
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 (1.6×)PFOS (Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid)
● Over EPA limit (1.3×)PFHxS (Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid)
● Below limitPFHpA
● Detected (no federal limit)PFHxA
● 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
Dallas, TX's drinking water comes from surface water, drawn from 5 sources.
Source
- INTAKE 5 - LAKE FORK
- INTAKE 4 - ELM FORK TRINITY R / ELM FORK
- INTAKE 2 - RAY HUBBARD
- INTAKE 3 - ELM FORK TRINITY R / BACHMAN
- + 1 more
Treatment
- SWTP - BACHMAN - 2605 SHORECREST
- SWTP - EAST SIDE - 405 LONG CREEK RD
- SWTP - ELM FORK - 1440 WHITLOCK LN
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.