What is CARBON, TOTAL in drinking water?

CARBON, TOTAL is an EPA SDWIS analyte. In this extract, 64.3% of its 38,231 violations are health-based across 1,521 systems.

How many water systems have CARBON, TOTAL violations?

1,521 systems sit in the mid footprint band (mid footprint (≤ 8,691 systems)).

Are CARBON, TOTAL violations dangerous?

Yes in EPA terms for most of this ledger: 64.3% are health-based (MCL or treatment-technique). Those trigger corrective action and public notice.

Where does CARBON, TOTAL sit in the national contaminant ledger?

#73 of 157 indexable contaminants by violation volume - middle-third volume (≤ 49,133 violations), dense load (> 5.8 violations per affected system).

Where does this contaminant data come from?

EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) quarterly extracts. Counts are cumulative compliance records, not a live risk score for a single tap.

Contaminants →

EPA SDWIS Majority health-based Dense per-system load

CARBON, TOTAL in Drinking Water

Compiled by PlainWater · May 15, 2026

64.3% of 38,231 recorded violations are health-based - 1,521 systems in the EPA SDWIS extract.

Browse all SDWIS contaminants →

EPA contaminant code: 2920

Total Violations

38,231

Systems Affected

1,521

Health-Based %

64.3%

Violations / System

25.1

CARBON, TOTAL standing, mid-volume SDWIS third

CARBON, TOTAL lands in the middle third by violation volume (38,231), large enough for peer comparisons but not one of the handful of analytes that dominate the fleet-wide SDWIS ledger. Load is concentrated: 25.1 violations per affected system (dense load (> 5.8 violations per affected system)), which usually means repeat findings on the same PWSIDs rather than one-off detections spread thin. Health-based share is 64.3% - most of this analyte's ledger is MCL or treatment-technique exceedance, not paperwork. Among 157 indexable contaminants, this page is #73 by violation volume. Utilities listed below are ranked by cumulative violation count for this analyte; pair that with population served to gauge household exposure scale.

Nationwide similar contaminants

Nearest by violation volume

Dalapon (39,666) Total Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB) (36,672) Antimony, Total (36,416) 1,2-DIBROMO-3-CHLOROPROPANE (36,389)

Nearest by systems affected

Stage 1 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule (1,347 systems) Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule (1,237 systems) Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (871 systems) Gross Beta Particle Activity (792 systems)

CARBON, TOTAL: mostly health-based findings

64.3% health-based · 35.7% monitoring/reporting across 38,231 records.

Health-based (64.3%) Monitoring/Reporting (35.7%)

Most Affected Water Systems

System	State	Violations	Population
Barnsdall	OK	555	1,243
Weleetka Public Works Authority	OK	434	998
Stroud Utilities Authority	OK	405	2,811
Otoe-Missouria Tribe	OK	388	250
Eufaula PWA	OK	365	2,766
Talihina PWA	OK	351	950
Pittsburg Co. Water Authority	OK	335	5
Sardis Lake Water Authority	OK	307	307
Fairfax	OK	305	1,555
Severy, City Of	KS	289	200
Atoka Co. RWS & Swmd #4	OK	278	3,000
Frederick	OK	273	3,940
Okmulgee	OK	252	13,495
Henryetta	OK	239	6,096
Cimarron Water System	NM	238	1,260
Snyder Public Works Authority	OK	238	1,509
McAlester PWA	OK	238	18,206
Coweta PWA	OK	220	9,450
Mannford	OK	214	3,935
Wewoka Public Works Authority	OK	210	3,450
Beggs	OK	210	1,364
Delaware	OK	204	456
Delaware Co RWD # 3	OK	192	653
Otoe-Missouria Tribe	OK	191	250
Wetumka	OK	175	1,451
Altus	OK	168	18,717
Pittsburg Co. PWA (Crowder)	OK	166	2,203
Alakanuk Water System	AK	165	570
Mitchell Co RWD 2	KS	165	873
Kiowa	OK	165	731

Context: understanding water quality data · is my water safe?

Data sourced from EPA SDWIS and UCMR5 PFAS monitoring data. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainWater

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS). Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Every figure on PlainWater is rendered directly from EPA SDWIS drinking-water data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on EPA SDWIS data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.