The Environmental Working Group finds most of us are getting extra chemicals with each glass of tap water, most of which are unregulated.
Over 300 Pollutants Found in U.S. Tap Water
Testing by water utilities has found 315 pollutants in the tap water Americans drink since 2004, according to an Environmental Working Group drinking water quality analysis of nearly 20 million records obtained from state water officials.
Over half of the chemicals detected are not subject to health or safety regulations and can legally be present in any amount in the tap water we drink today. The federal government does have health guidelines for others, but 49 of these contaminants have been found in one place or another at levels well above those guidelines, virtually polluting the tap water for 53.6 million Americans. The government has not set any new drinking water standards since 2001.
Water utilities are spending 19 times more on water treatment chemicals every year than the federal government invests in protecting lakes and rivers from pollution in the first place.
Based on this data, EWG believes the federal government has a responsibility to do a new national assessment of drinking water quality. It should establish new safety standards, set priorities for pollution prevention projects, and tell consumers about the full range of pollutants found in their tap water.
EWG launched a 3-year project to create the largest drinking water quality database in existence. This user-friendly, interactive resource covers 48,000 communities in 45 states and the District of Columbia.
Cities with the Best Water
EWG rated big city (population over 250,000) water utilities based on three factors: the total number of chemicals detected since 2004; the percentage of chemicals found of those tested; and the highest average level for an individual pollutant, relative to legal limits or national average amounts, including for the most common pollutants (disinfection byproducts, nitrate and arsenic). [read more on rating methodology]
EWG's Top-Rated and Lowest-Rated Water Utilities
| TOP RATED WATER UTILITIES | LOWEST RATED WATER UTILITIES |
1 | Arlington, TX
Arlington Water Utilities | 100 | Pensacola, FL
Emerald Coast Water Utility |
2 | Providence, RI
Providence Water | 99 | Riverside, CA
City of Riverside Public Utilities |
3 | Fort Worth, TX
Fort Worth Water Department | 98 | Las Vegas, NV
Las Vegas Valley Water District |
4 | Charleston, SC
Charleston Water System | 97 | Riverside County, CA
Eastern Municipal Water District |
5 | Boston, MA
Massachusetts Water Resources Authority | 96 | Reno, NV
Truckee Meadows Water Authority |
6 | Honolulu, HI
Board of Water Supply
(Honolulu/Windward/Pearl Harbor) | 95 | Houston, TX
City of Houston Public Works |
7 | Austin, TX
Austin Water Utility | 94 | Omaha, NE
Metropolitan Utilities District |
8 | Fairfax County, VA
Fairfax Water | 93 | North Las Vegas, NV
City of North Las Vegas Utilities Department |
9 | St. Louis, MO
City of St. Louis Water Division | 92 | San Diego, CA
San Diego Water Department |
10 | Minneapolis, MN
City of Minneapolis Water Department | 91 | Jacksonville, FL
JEA |