For the water quality by city check, first match the address to the correct water system in EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System. Read the reporting period, measured result, standard, and any current notice before drawing a conclusion.
For water quality by city, make sure EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System covers the exact address, system, provider, or monitoring location. Keep supplier and system, sample or report date, the record identifier, and the update or effective date when following up on a mismatch.
Find the correct water system for water quality by city
Use EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System only after matching the address to the correct public water system. Consumer confidence reports and notices apply to a named supplier and reporting period.
- EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System
- EPA drinking water consumer information
- EPA Consumer Confidence Reports
Match the address, supplier, and reporting year
Have the service address, supplier name, reporting year, contaminant name, and any boil-water or violation notice ready.
- Service address
- Water supplier
- Reporting year
- Contaminant or notice name
Read the contaminant result beside its standard
- Open EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System and identify the public water system serving the address.
- Match service address, water supplier, and reporting year before opening a report.
- Read supplier and system, sample or report date, measured level, and the standard or corrective action beside the result.
- Check current supplier notices separately because an annual report may not show a new outage, boil-water advisory, or short-term incident.
- Save the report year, system name, contaminant table, and notice date when you need to discuss the result with the supplier.
Separate a system report from a tap-specific problem
Compare the measured level with the stated standard and reporting period. A detected contaminant, exceedance, treatment notice, and tap-specific complaint are different situations.
| Current detail | How to interpret it |
|---|---|
| Water system name | A city can have multiple water systems or wholesale suppliers: Utility or EPA record. |
| Consumer Confidence Report | Annual reports summarize regulated drinking water results: City or water utility. |
| Recent advisories | A clean annual report may not show a current boil-water or do-not-drink notice: Utility alerts. |
| Lead or service line notes | Building plumbing and service lines can affect tap results. Confirm with the utility and local program pages. |
A report used for water quality by city covers a named water system and reporting period. It does not test one tap or diagnose an individual health concern.
If the address or water system is missing
Check the water bill, local utility directory, landlord, or municipal service page for the supplier name. Nearby addresses may use different systems or private wells.
Contact the supplier for the current report and notices. A private well or building-level plumbing concern requires a different testing path.