University of South Florida

Water Quality Snapshot: University of South Florida

University of South Florida is a state-owned community water system that delivers drinking water to 47,586 residents in Tampa, Florida (Hillsborough County) through 182 service connections. Its water is drawn from groundwater sources. EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System records 106 total violations for this system , of which 16 (15%) are health-based, meaning a contaminant exceeded an EPA Maximum Contaminant Level or a required treatment technique failed. A further 59 monitoring and reporting violations are on file. The most recent violation on record dates to 2025.

The most frequently cited contaminant at this system is TTHM, recorded in 20 violations (MR). Under EPA's UCMR5 PFAS monitoring program, 8 PFAS compounds were detected in samples collected from this system, with a maximum reported concentration of 25 ppt (parts per trillion). PFAS are persistent synthetic chemicals linked to health effects at very low exposure levels.

Across Florida, EPA tracks 5,093 public water systems serving 22,381,282 people, with 184,355 cumulative violations and 24,266 health-based violations on record. About 93% of systems in the state carry at least one violation, and state-wide the average per system is 36.2 violations. Statewide, 218 of 402 UCMR5-tested systems have reported PFAS detections (54.2%).

University of South Florida's 106 violations sit above the Florida average.

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