Every community water system in the US must publish an annual water quality report, known as a Consumer Confidence Report (CCR). It tells you where your water comes from and what was detected in it. Here's how to read one.
Where to find yours
- Search your utility's website for “water quality report” or “CCR.” Many utilities also mail or email it each year.
- Use the EPA's Consumer Confidence Report search, or a tool like the EWG Tap Water Database, which lets you search by ZIP code.
- On a private well? CCRs don't cover wells, so you'll need to have your water tested by a certified lab.
The terms you'll see
- MCL (Maximum Contaminant Level): the highest level of a contaminant legally allowed in drinking water.
- MCLG (Maximum Contaminant Level Goal): the level below which there is no known or expected risk to health. Goals can be lower than the legal limit, and for some contaminants, like lead, the goal is zero.
- Action Level (AL): for lead and copper, the concentration that triggers treatment or other requirements for the utility.
- Units: ppm (parts per million, mg/L), ppb (parts per billion, µg/L), and ppt (parts per trillion, ng/L). One ppb is 1,000 times smaller than one ppm.
What to look at first
- Violations. The report must say whether any legal limit was exceeded. Read this section closely.
- Detected contaminants. Compare each level detected with the MCLG as well as the MCL. A result can be legal but still well above the health goal.
- Lead. Reports usually show the 90th-percentile result from homes tested. Lead mostly comes from service lines and household plumbing, so your tap can differ from the utility's numbers. Ask your utility whether your home has a lead service line.
- Disinfectants and byproducts. Chlorine or chloramine levels, plus trihalomethanes (TTHMs) and haloacetic acids (HAA5), which form when disinfectants react with organic matter.
- PFAS. In 2024 the EPA set the first national limits for several PFAS, including 4 parts per trillion for PFOA and PFOS. Utilities are phasing in monitoring, so your report may or may not list them yet.
What the report can't tell you
- What happens between the main and your tap, including your home's pipes and fixtures
- Short-term changes after the sampling dates
- Contaminants that aren't regulated or weren't tested
Turning the report into a decision
Make a short list of what you want to reduce, then compare it with a filter's published lab results. Look for named labs and specific contaminants rather than broad claims. Aquelia's SGS results are listed contaminant by contaminant for exactly this reason.
Want to check your area now? Enter your ZIP code on our homepage to open the EWG Tap Water Database.