D.C. Water and Sewer Authority

Water Quality Snapshot: D.C. Water and Sewer Authority

D.C. Water and Sewer Authority is a local-owned community water system that delivers drinking water to 632,323 residents in Washington, District of Columbia (District of Columbia County) through 133,500 service connections. Its water is drawn from surface water sources. EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System records 82 total violations for this system , of which 32 (39%) are health-based, meaning a contaminant exceeded an EPA Maximum Contaminant Level or a required treatment technique failed. A further 39 monitoring and reporting violations are on file. The most recent violation on record dates to 2023.

The most frequently cited contaminant at this system is Coliform (TCR), recorded in 22 violations (MCL, health-based). Under EPA's UCMR5 PFAS monitoring program, 2 PFAS compounds were detected in samples collected from this system, with a maximum reported concentration of 4.7 ppt (parts per trillion). PFAS are persistent synthetic chemicals linked to health effects at very low exposure levels.

Across District of Columbia, EPA tracks 5 public water systems serving 667,575 people, with 263 cumulative violations and 72 health-based violations on record. About 100% of systems in the state carry at least one violation, and state-wide the average per system is 52.6 violations. Statewide, 3 of 3 UCMR5-tested systems have reported PFAS detections (100%).

D.C. Water and Sewer Authority's 82 violations sit above the District of Columbia average.

All figures above are sourced directly from EPA SDWIS and UCMR5 public data releases and are updated as EPA publishes new reporting cycles.