Drinking Water Quality Report
Pennsylvania
2,060 systems serving 10,834,741 people
This drinking water quality report shows results of tests conducted by water utilities in Pennsylvania, provided to the Environmental Working Group (EWG) by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. It is part of EWG's national database that includes 47,667 drinking water utilities and 20 million test results from 45 states and the District of Columbia. Water utilities nationwide detected more than 300 pollutants between 2004 and 2009. More than half of these chemicals are unregulated, legal in any amount. Despite this widespread contamination, the federal government invests few resources in protecting rivers, reservoirs, and groundwater from pollution in the first place. The information below summarizes drinking water quality for this state.
Chemicals |
Water Utilities |
Population Served |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Detected Chemicals | 59 |
2,060 |
10,827,007 |
Exceed health guidelines* | 32 |
1,584 |
10,590,703 |
Exceed Legal Limits* | 19 |
391 |
6,242,417 |
Unregulated chemicals detected | 4 |
12 |
608,893 |
| * Water utilities are noted as exceeding the legal limit if any test is above the maximum contaminant level (MCL). Most MCLs are based on annual averages so exceeding the MCL for one test does not necessarily indicate that the system is out of compliance. | |||
32 Contaminants Exceeding Health Based Limits
Contaminants detected in Pennsylvania drinking water above health guidelines, according to an Environmental Working Group analysis of data obtained from state water authorities
| Contaminant | Population |
Number of Systems |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| At Any Level | Above Health Limits | At Any Level | Above Health Limits | |
| Total haloacetic acids (HAAs) | 10,449,397 | 10,398,523 | 1,241 | 1,212 |
| Total trihalomethanes (TTHMs) | 10,758,511 | 9,889,384 | 1,663 | 779 |
| Arsenic (total) | 3,736,561 | 3,736,561 | 336 | 336 |
| Radium-228 | 3,003,298 | 3,003,298 | 276 | 276 |
| Dichloromethane (methylene chloride) | 2,659,383 | 2,659,383 | 50 | 50 |
| Atrazine | 2,398,926 | 2,048,950 | 40 | 25 |
| Tetrachloroethylene | 1,763,026 | 1,763,026 | 74 | 74 |
| Pentachlorophenol | 1,638,977 | 1,638,977 | 5 | 5 |
| Alachlor (Lasso) | 1,600,040 | 1,600,040 | 2 | 2 |
| Trichloroethylene | 1,556,387 | 1,556,387 | 83 | 83 |
Water Utilities in Pennsylvania Reporting Chemicals Exceeding Health Guidelines
Water utilities in Pennsylvania reporting chemicals exceeding health guidelines, according to an Environmental Working Group analysis of data obtained from state water authorities, include:
| System | Population |
Chemicals tested |
Chemicals found |
Chemicals exceeding health guidelines |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonneaville Muni Water Auth | 2,347 | 66 | 18 | 13 |
| Mcconnellsburg Boro Muni Auth | 2,000 | 52 | 24 | 9 |
| Richland Township Sb | 3,958 | 83 | 16 | 9 |
| Trumbauersville Mun Waterworks | 1,057 | 30 | 13 | 9 |
| Oakwood Heights Mhp | 85 | 29 | 23 | 8 |
| Gettysburg Muni Auth | 11,500 | 59 | 14 | 8 |
| Philadelphia Water Department | 1,600,000 | 50 | 12 | 8 |
| Audubon Water Company | 8,800 | 69 | 21 | 8 |
| Schwenksville Borough Auth | 4,380 | 39 | 15 | 8 |
| Richland Twp Water Auth Wbwc | 2,009 | 44 | 16 | 8 |
| Warminster Municipal Authority | 40,000 | 47 | 14 | 8 |
| Sellersville Boro Water Works | 4,900 | 71 | 16 | 8 |
| Lake Meade Muni Auth | 3,162 | 41 | 8 | 7 |
| Littlestown Boro | 4,000 | 45 | 11 | 7 |
| Superior Water Company Main | 7,500 | 44 | 15 | 7 |
| Horsham Water & Sewer Auth | 25,000 | 56 | 15 | 7 |
| Warrington Twp Water&sew Dept | 15,129 | 33 | 14 | 7 |
| Dover Twp Water Sys | 14,640 | 31 | 8 | 6 |
| Aqua PA Links AT Gettysburg Sy | 25 | 57 | 15 | 6 |
| New Oxford Manor Mhp | 350 | 40 | 7 | 6 |
Sources of Pennsylvania Drinking Water Contaminants
The contaminants identified in Pennsylvania drinking water come from a wide variety of sources, including agriculture, industry, water treatment plants, and polluted storm runoff from urban areas.
Testing Summary for Pennsylvania
The federal government has set standards for some of the pollutants found in tap water supplies.
| Contaminants reported as tested by water suppliers in Pennsylvania | 92 | |
| Contaminants tested due to federal law: | 73 | |
| Contaminants tested in addition to those required by federal law: | 19 | |
Violation Summary for Pennsylvania
Data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency includes the following violations of federal standards in Pennsylvania since 2004
| Violation Type | Number of Violations |
|---|---|
| Failure to monitor regularly | 13,063 |
| Monitoring and Reporting Disinfection Byproduct Rule | 8,126 |
| Failure to monitor, Routine Major (Coliform bacteria) | 1,969 |
| Failure to report information to the public or state agency in the Consumer Confidence Report | 1,881 |
| Failure to monitor or report, Routine/Repeat (Indicators of microbial or virus contamination) | 1,598 |
| Public Notification Violation for National Primary Drinking Water Regulations | 1,146 |
| Filter Turbidity Reporting | 661 |
| Over maximum contaminant level, Average | 514 |
| Failure to monitor or report, Routine/Repeat (Indicators of microbial or virus contamination) | 422 |
| Inadequate reporting of information to the public | 410 |
| Follow-up and Routine Tap Sampling | 309 |
| Maximum contaminant level, Monthly (Coliform bacteria) | 276 |
| Failure to monitor, Routine Minor (Coliform bacteria) | 154 |
| Treatment Technique Precursor Removal | 126 |
| Treatment Technique (Surface Water Treatment Rule) | 117 |
| Failure to monitor, Repeat Minor (Coliform bacteria) | 98 |
| Over maximum contaminant level, Single Sample | 66 |
| Initial Tap Sampling for Lead and Copper | 63 |
| Failure to monitor: Check/Repeat/Confirmation sampling | 52 |
| Failure to monitor, Repeat Major (Coliform bacteria) | 37 |
| Maximum contaminant level, Acute (Coliform bacteria) | 28 |
| Optimal Corrosion Control Treatment Study Recommendation | 26 |
| Monitoring & Reporting of Filter Profile/Comprehensive Performance Evaluations Failure | 22 |
| Excess Turbidity at 1 NTU | 21 |
| Non-Acute maximum residual disinfectant level | 21 |
| Excess Turbidity at 0.3 NTU | 10 |
| Water Quality Program Entry Point Non-Compliance | 4 |
| Optimal Corrosion Control Treatment Installation/Demonstration | 3 |
| Record Keeping Violation | 2 |
| Initial Water Quality Parameter Monitoring and Reporting | 1 |