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EPA SDWIS ~155K water systems EPA + UCMR5

Turbidity

EPA SDWIS quarterly extract data for this analyte. Detection counts and health-based violation counts reflect the most recent federal release.

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EPA contaminant code: 0100

Total Violations
1,581
Systems Affected
126
Health-Based %
0%
Most Affected State
-

What this means

Turbidity appears in EPA SDWIS with 1,581 recorded violations across 126 public water systems. Of those, 0% are classified as health-based, meaning the reading exceeded a federally enforceable Maximum Contaminant Level or a treatment-technique requirement rather than a monitoring or reporting lapse. Health-based violations are the subset that trigger formal corrective action and public notification, so the share is a useful signal of real-world exposure risk rather than paperwork drift. State-level concentration data is not consistently reported for this contaminant, so regional interpretation should lean on the system table below rather than state aggregates. Utilities listed below are ranked by cumulative violation count, so a higher rank reflects persistence in the record rather than a single spike; readers comparing systems should consider population served alongside violation count to gauge how many households were actually exposed.

Violation Type Split

Turbidity violations broken down by EPA classification.

Health-based (0%) Monitoring/Reporting (100%)

Health-based violations indicate the contaminant exceeded an EPA Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) or treatment-technique requirement; monitoring/reporting violations are procedural.

Most Affected Water Systems

System State Violations Population
Metropolitano PR 71 1,077,332
Mayaguez PR 53 151,555
Aceitunas PR 45 8,961
Penuelas PR 42 17,320
Morovis Urbano PR 40 20,628
Aguas Buenas Urbano PR 39 13,016
Cotto Laurel PR 37 13,860
Ponce Urbano PR 34 111,926
Lago Guajataca PR 33 11,187
Yauco PR 31 35,618
Villalba Urbano PR 30 3,362
Orocovis Urbano PR 30 16,869
Coamo Urbano PR 29 4,592
Aguadilla PR 28 123,885
Regional Villalba Toa Vaca PR 26 33,711
Maunabo Urbano PR 26 9,310
Juncos - Ceiba Sur PR 26 36,277
Cabo Rojo PR 25 20,749
Quebradillas Urbano PR 24 27,458
Santa Isabel PR 24 3,335
Las Piedras Humacao PR 23 36,032
Ej Water Cooperative IL 22 29,720
Cedro Arriba PR 22 5,482
Rio Blanco,vieques,culedra PR 21 80,759
Negros PR 21 14,781
Vermilion City OH 20 10,569
Sabana Grande PR 20 25,229
Corozal Urbano PR 20 8,619
Huttonsville Psd WV 20 4,758
Quebrada PR 18 9,260

Drinking Water Guides

Understanding Water Quality Data

What EPA SDWIS tracks, how violations are classified, and what MCLs mean.
PFAS in Drinking Water

What forever chemicals are, EPA testing results, and 2024 standards.
Is My Water Safe?

How to assess your local water quality and when to take precautions.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Turbidity in drinking water? ▼
Turbidity is a contaminant tracked by the EPA under the Safe Drinking Water Act. It has caused 1,581 violations across 126 public water systems nationwide. 0% of these violations are health-based, meaning the contaminant exceeded Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) or treatment technique requirements.
How many water systems have Turbidity violations? ▼
126 public water systems across the United States have at least one Turbidity violation recorded in the EPA SDWIS database.
Are Turbidity violations dangerous? ▼
0% of Turbidity violations are health-based, meaning the contaminant level exceeded safe limits set by the EPA. Health-based violations require corrective action by the water system. Not all violations indicate immediate health risk, but they signal that water quality standards were not met.
Which state has the most Turbidity violations? ▼
State-level breakdown data is not available for this contaminant.
Where does this contaminant data come from? ▼
All violation data comes from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), which tracks compliance for all public water systems regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act. SDWIS records violations including Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) exceedances, treatment technique failures, and monitoring/reporting issues.

Data Sources

Contaminant violation data from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS). Violations are categorized as health-based (Maximum Contaminant Level exceedances, treatment technique failures) or monitoring/reporting violations.

Related

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

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.