Is Pennsylvania tap water safe to drink? It depends on the water system that serves you. Of 121 Pennsylvania city reports, 9 cities have a health-based violation on the federal record in the last 10 years and 1 city was above the lead action level; 41 had a PFAS sample above a 2024 EPA limit (not a violation). Search your city for its own records.
PurityMap does not give a statewide safe or unsafe verdict: Pennsylvania tap water comes from many separate public water systems, so the answer depends on the one that serves you. Of 121 Pennsylvania city reports, 9 cities have a health-based violation in the federal SDWIS record in the last 10 years, and 1 city was above the 15 µg/L lead action level. 41 of 121 Pennsylvania city reports had a PFAS sample above a 2024 EPA limit. EPA's 2024 limits are judged on a yearly average, and water systems have until 2029 to meet them, so a single sample is not a violation. 75 of 121 have none of these on record, which is not the same as every contaminant being tested. Your city's report shows its own records, and plumbing inside a building can still change what reaches your tap.
41of 121 cities
City reports whose system had a PFAS sample above a 2024 EPA limit.
PFOS in Pennsylvania →88of 121 cities
90th-percentile lead above zero.
Lead across Pennsylvania →1of 121 cities
Cities whose 90th-percentile result is above 15 µg/L.
How lead is measured →0of 121 cities
Cities whose system reported nitrate above 10 mg/L.
About nitrate →2of 121 cities
Above 120 mg/L as CaCO₃ (7 gpg) on the USGS scale, of 4 cities with a hardness value.
About hard water →The 20 city reports whose main water system serves the most people, each with that system and one fact from its record. Open a city for its full report.
17 Pennsylvania cities share the top place in the ranking. The largest of them by population served are Easton, Harrisburg, Levittown, Kingston and Wilkes-Barre. Cities are ranked by the Purity Score of each one's main water system, computed only from contaminants measured in the published EPA record, so the ranking compares the records, not which city's water is safest. Each city report names the water system behind its score.
17 cities share a score of 100. They’re listed by population served, largest first; their order is not a ranking.
Dashed line: 4 ng/L federal MCL for PFOS (PFOA is also 4 ng/L).
Dashed line: 15 µg/L action level, a treatment trigger.
Aesthetic measure on the USGS scale; not a health finding.
Every Pennsylvania city report, A–Z. Use a letter to jump, or search by name.
Resolve your address to the one public water system that serves it.
Find my water →Plumbing inside a building can add lead and change what reaches your glass.
How to test →Only after a city report names a finding, match a treatment certified for it.
Treatment options →Get Pennsylvania updates
We'll email you when Pennsylvania records change, such as new PFAS or lead results.
Follow Pennsylvania's water →PurityMap does not give a statewide safe or unsafe verdict: Pennsylvania tap water comes from many separate public water systems, so the answer depends on the one that serves you. Of 121 Pennsylvania city reports, 9 cities have a health-based violation in the federal SDWIS record in the last 10 years, and 1 city was above the 15 µg/L lead action level. 41 of 121 Pennsylvania city reports had a PFAS sample above a 2024 EPA limit. EPA's 2024 limits are judged on a yearly average, and water systems have until 2029 to meet them, so a single sample is not a violation. 75 of 121 have none of these on record, which is not the same as every contaminant being tested. Your city's report shows its own records, and plumbing inside a building can still change what reaches your tap.
17 Pennsylvania cities share the top place in the ranking. The largest of them by population served are Easton, Harrisburg, Levittown, Kingston and Wilkes-Barre. Cities are ranked by the Purity Score of each one's main water system, computed only from contaminants measured in the published EPA record, so the ranking compares the records, not which city's water is safest. Each city report names the water system behind its score.
PurityMap ranks 121 cities in Pennsylvania by the Purity Score of each city's main water system, computed only from contaminants measured in the published EPA record. Scores belong to water systems, not to cities. The highest published score is Easton's main water system: EASTON AREA WATER SYSTEM · PWSID PA3480050 · Purity Score 100 (Excellent) · Confidence: moderate · Assessed at the water-system level. The ranking compares the records, not which city's water is safest, and your own tap can differ with household plumbing.
41 of 121 Pennsylvania city reports had a PFAS sample above a 2024 EPA limit in EPA's UCMR 5 testing, including Emmaus (PFOS 153 ng/L), Horsham (PFOS 33.8 ng/L), Lancaster (PFOA 23.8 ng/L). That limit is judged on a yearly average, and water systems have until 2029 to meet it, so a single sample is not a violation. PFAS were detected at any level in 61.
Utilities report lead as a 90th-percentile result from home taps. 88 of 121 Pennsylvania cities reported a value above zero, and 1 city was above the 15 µg/L federal action level. Lead usually comes from a building's own pipes and fixtures, so only a test at your tap tells you what you drink.
9 cities in Pennsylvania have a health-based violation in the federal SDWIS record within about the last ten years. Each city report lists the contaminant, year and whether it was resolved.
Hardness is published in utility water-quality reports for 4 Pennsylvania cities on record; the hardest is Allentown at 15 grains per gallon. Hardness affects scale and appliances; it is not a health finding.