Local Water Intelligence
How to Read Your Water Quality Report (Without a Chemistry Degree)
Your utility mails or posts a Consumer Confidence Report every year. Here is how to find the five things that actually matter in it.
Published 2026-11-05 · Reviewed 2026-11-05 · 6 min read
What this report is
Every community water system must publish an annual Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) covering contaminants detected in the previous year, the legal limits (MCLs), and the health-based goals (MCLGs). It describes water as it leaves the treatment system and moves through distribution, not a test of your specific tap.
That distinction matters. Lead, for example, usually enters water from household plumbing, so a clean CCR does not rule out lead at an older home's faucet. The EPA recommends testing at the tap when lead is the question.
The five things to find
1. Your system's name and water source. 2. Any violation notices, stated plainly. 3. Detected levels next to their MCLs, not just pass/fail. 4. Lead and copper results, reported as a 90th percentile across sampled homes. 5. The contact for questions, because a good utility answers them.
A detected contaminant below its limit is normal and expected. Modern testing finds trace levels of many substances; the limit is where the regulation draws the line, with a safety margin built in.
Sources
Regulatory limits, advisory guidelines, and detected levels are different things. Our editorial policy explains how we keep them straight.
Read our editorial policy