EWG Investigation | U.S. Tap Water Quality Database

Health Limit Exceeded
• Placeholder text

Legal Limit
• EPA set legal limit which balances health concerns and treatment costs

Tier 3 Control - past mining and drilling
• Closed or abandoned mines/plans/notices
• Mineral rich land that has been titled to mining interests (mining patents)
• Formerly drilled and pumped oil & gas Leases

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EWG Statement, 03/10/2008

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NATIONAL SUMMARY

Quality Varies Across the U.S.

CONTAMINANTS DATABASE

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Tap Water Quality Report
The State of Texas
6,110 Water Systems
Serving 23,045,518 People

An Environmental Working Group analysis of tap water tests from 1998 through 2003 for 6,110 communities across Texas shows 105 pollutants were found in drinking water across the state.

Pollution Summary

105	Total Contaminants Detected (1998 - 2003)
15	Agricultural Pollutants (pesticides, fertilizer, factory farms) Nitrate & nitrite, Nitrate, Nitrite, Sulfate, Thallium (total), Prometon (2,4-bis -6-(isopropylamino)), Simazine, Metolachlor, Atrazine, Alachlor (Lasso), Bromacil, Bromomethane, Iodomethane, Ethylbenzene, Perchlorate
25	Sprawl and Urban Pollutants (road runoff, lawn pesticides, human waste) Arsenic (total), Cadmium (total), Copper, Lead (total), Mercury (total inorganic), Nitrate & nitrite, Nitrate, Nitrite, Antimony (total), Isopropyl alcohol, Acetone, Naphthalene, MTBE, Fluorene, Phenanthrene, Diethylphthalate, Pyrene, Di-n-butylphthalate, Benzo[a]anthracene, Benzo[b]fluoranthene, Benzo[k]fluoranthene, Benzo[a]pyrene, Tetrachloroethylene, Benzene, o-Xylene
79	Industrial Pollutants Aluminum, Arsenic (total), Barium (total), Cadmium (total), Chromium (total), Lead (total), Manganese, Mercury (total inorganic), Nitrate & nitrite, Nitrate, Nitrite, Selenium (total), Silver (total), Sulfate, Antimony (total), Beryllium (total), Thallium (total), Carbon disulfide, Di(2-Ethylhexyl) adipate, Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, Hexachlorocyclopentadiene, Butyl Acetate, Isopropyl alcohol, Chloromethane, Bromomethane, Chloroethane, Aniline, Acetone, Hexachlorobutadiene, Methyl ethyl ketone, Naphthalene, Methyl isobutyl ketone, MTBE, Acenaphthene, Tetrahydrofuran, Fluorene, 2-Hexanone, Phenanthrene, Diethylphthalate, Pyrene, Di-n-butylphthalate, Methyl methacrylate, Chrysene, n-Hexane, 1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene, cis-1,2-Dichloroethylene, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, n-Butylbenzene, 1,3,5-Trimethylbenzene, Bromochloromethane, Dichloromethane (methylene chloride), p-Dichlorobenzene, Vinyl chloride, 1,1-Dichloroethylene, 1,1-Dichloroethane, 1,2-Dichloroethane, 1,1,1-Trichloroethane, Carbon tetrachloride, 1,2-Dichloropropane, Trichloroethylene, Tetrachloroethylene, Monochlorobenzene (Chlorobenzene), Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, Styrene, o-Xylene, m- & p- Xylene, Alpha particle activity (excl radon and uranium), Combined Uranium (mg/L), Uranium-234, Uranium-235, Uranium-238, Combined Radium (-226 & -228), Radium-226, Radium-228, Alpha particle activity, Perchlorate, Gross beta particle activity (pCi/L)
25	Water Treatment and Distribution Byproducts (pipes and fixtures, treatment chemicals and byproducts) Cadmium (total), Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, Chloromethane, Methyl ethyl ketone, 2-Hexanone, Benzo[a]anthracene, Benzo[b]fluoranthene, Benzo[k]fluoranthene, Benzo[a]pyrene, Dibromomethane, Bromochloromethane, Monochloroacetic acid, Dichloroacetic acid, Trichloroacetic acid, Monobromoacetic acid, Dibromoacetic acid, Total haloacetic acids, Chloroform, Bromoform, Bromodichloromethane, Dibromochloromethane, Total trihalomethanes (TTHMs), Dichloroiodomethane, Vinyl chloride, Dichloroacetonitrile
24	Naturally Occurring (naturally present but increased for lands denuded by sprawl, agriculture, or industrial development) Aluminum, Arsenic (total), Chromium (total), Copper, Lead (total), Manganese, Mercury (total inorganic), Nitrate & nitrite, Nitrate, Nitrite, Selenium (total), Silver (total), Sulfate, Chloromethane, Alpha particle activity (excl radon and uranium), Combined Uranium (mg/L), Uranium-234, Uranium-235, Uranium-238, Combined Radium (-226 & -228), Radium-226, Radium-228, Alpha particle activity, Gross beta particle activity (pCi/L)
40	Unregulated Contaminants EPA has not established a maximum legal limit in tapwater for these contaminants Carbon disulfide, Prometon (2,4-bis -6-(isopropylamino)), Metolachlor, Butyl Acetate, Isopropyl alcohol, Bromacil, Chloromethane, Bromomethane, Chloroethane, Aniline, Acetone, Hexachlorobutadiene, Methyl ethyl ketone, Naphthalene, Methyl isobutyl ketone, MTBE, Acenaphthene, Tetrahydrofuran, Fluorene, 2-Hexanone, Phenanthrene, Diethylphthalate, Pyrene, Di-n-butylphthalate, Methyl methacrylate, Chrysene, Benzo[a]anthracene, Benzo[b]fluoranthene, Benzo[k]fluoranthene, n-Hexane, Dibromomethane, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, n-Butylbenzene, 1,3,5-Trimethylbenzene, Bromochloromethane, Iodomethane, Dichloroacetonitrile, Dichloroiodomethane, 1,1-Dichloroethane, Perchlorate

105 56
15 7
25 15
79 39
25 19
24 22
Total pollutants Agricultural pollutants Sprawl and Urban pollutants Industrial pollutants Water Treatment and Distribution Byproducts Naturally occurring pollutants
Number of pollutants detected (1998 - 2003) Over health based limits

NOTE: Health based limits included in this analysis include enforceable drinking water limits (called Maximum Contaminant Limits, or MCLs) as well as governmental, non-enforceable health guidelines, such as Maximum Contaminant Limit Goals (MCLGs), lifetime health advisory levels, one-day and ten-day advisory levels to protect children from non-cancer health endpoints, and other government-established health guidelines for tap water contaminants.

Health Summary

The federal government has set standards for 80 chemical pollutants in tap water, balancing health concerns and treatment costs.

Contaminants found in state tap water (1998-2003): 105

Total population exposed above health-based limits: 17,486,112

Communities served water with contaminants above health-based limits: 2,887

Health effects or target organs of contaminants found: Cardiovascular or Blood Toxicity, Cancer, Developmental Toxicity, Endocrine Toxicity, Immunotoxicity, Kidney Toxicity, Gastrointestinal or Liver Toxicity, Neurotoxicity, Reproductive Toxicity, Respiratory Toxicity, and Skin Sensitivity.

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Contaminants found above health based limits: 56

Rank Contaminant Name Population Exposed (of 23,045,518 Total) Number of Water Systems (of 6,110) Total
At Any Level Above Health Limits
See Note With Detected Above Health Limits
See Note
1 Barium (total) 19,210,829 2,442 3893 7
Mineral from drilling and mining waste runoff; erosion of natrual deposits
2 Sulfate 19,012,322 0 3682 0
Substance from natural deposits, industrial processes, and agriculture
3 Nitrate 17,387,944 48,336 2782 46
Chemical that enters water from fertilizer runoff, leaching septic tanks, and erosion of natural deposits
4 Total trihalomethanes (TTHMs) 15,767,878 3,282,891 2566 847
Measure of four disinfection by-products
5 Dibromochloromethane 17,663,613 12,869,413 2232 1665
Disinfection by-product
6 Copper 13,764,908 56,418 2171 15
contaminant that enters water by corrosion of household plumbing systems; erosion of natural deposits
7 Bromoform 16,134,704 998,773 1995 318
Disinfection by-product
8 Bromodichloromethane 16,975,548 11,939,797 1834 1191
Disinfection by-product
9 Manganese 10,154,614 284,677 1816 299
element from natural deposits as well as industrial use
10 Chloroform 16,756,094 3,024,193 1801 387
Disinfection by-product

View Full Table

Testing Summary

The federal government has set standards for some of the pollutants found in tap water supplies.

Contaminants reported as tested by water suppliers in Texas 190

Contaminants tested due to federal law: 100

Contaminants tested in addition to those required by federal law: 90

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Violations Summary

According to EPA, in 2003 6% of America's public water systems reported one or more violations of a health-based drinking water standard, and 26% reported significant violations of either monitoring and reporting requirements or health-based standards.

Reported violations (1998 - 2003): 8,596

Number of TX systems with violations: 2,197 (36%)

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Information on violations is drawn directly from EPA's national violations database in the Agency's Safe Drinking Water Information System. Analyses by others have raised questions about the quality of the information in EPA's database. For the purposes of this investigation, EWG is not showing below or including in our analyses, those violations for individual water suppliers that occurred on days for which the total number of violations assigned by EPA to that water supplier was greater than 20. This criteria was based on common characteristics of incorrect violations data as identified by water utilities, from a review of EPA's violations data by several hundred utilities prior to the release of EWG's investigation.