PlainWater
States → Puerto Rico

Community Water System · PWS PR0478064

Guaraguao

Ponce, Puerto Rico 00731 - drinking water served from surface water sources to 420 people, tracked in EPA SDWIS and UCMR5.

420
People served
511
EPA violations
84
Health-based
Untested
UCMR5 result

The verdict

EPA records 511 drinking-water violations at Guaraguao, 16% of them health-based - above the Puerto Rico per-system average.

511
Total EPA violations on record
16%
Health-based (MCL / treatment failure)
420
People served by this system
N/A
PFAS compounds detected (UCMR5)

Water Quality Snapshot: Guaraguao

Guaraguao is a private-owned community water system that delivers drinking water to 420 residents in Ponce, Puerto Rico (Yauco Municipio County) through 157 service connections. Its water is drawn from surface water sources. EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System records 511 total violations for this system , of which 84 (16%) are health-based, meaning a contaminant exceeded an EPA Maximum Contaminant Level or a required treatment technique failed. A further 358 monitoring and reporting violations are on file. The most recent violation on record dates to 2024.

The most frequently cited contaminant at this system is Coliform (TCR), recorded in 293 violations (MR). This system has not yet been sampled under EPA's UCMR5 PFAS monitoring program, so no PFAS detection data is available here.

Across Puerto Rico, EPA tracks 458 public water systems serving 3,328,141 people, with 164,144 cumulative violations and 34,657 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 358.4 violations. Statewide, 40 of 99 UCMR5-tested systems have reported PFAS detections (40.4%).

Guaraguao's 511 violations sit above the Puerto Rico average.

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

Population Served
420
Total Violations
511
Health-Based Violations
84
Water Source
Surface Water

System Details

System Type
Community
Owner Type
Private
Connections
157
County
Yauco Municipio
School/Daycare
No
MCL Violations
70
Monitoring Violations
358
Treatment Tech Violations
14

Violation History

Contaminant violations recorded by EPA.

Contaminant Category Count Latest
Coliform (TCR) MR 293 2016
Coliform (TCR) MCL 70 2014
Surface Water Treatment Rule MR 59 2005
Surface Water Treatment Rule TT 10 1993
Revised Total Coliform Rule MON 5 2021
Revised Total Coliform Rule TT 2 2018
Public Notice Other 2 2018
LEAD AND COPPER RULE REVISIONS TT 2 2024
LEAD AND COPPER RULE REVISIONS RPT 1 2024
Lead and Copper Rule MR 1 2023

Verify This Water System

The figures above are aggregated from EPA's public databases. To verify the underlying records, or to file a complaint, request a Consumer Confidence Report, or check current monitoring status, go directly to the federal and state regulators that enforce the Safe Drinking Water Act for Guaraguao.

Federal Source of Truth

EPA SDWIS, Federal Reports

EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) holds the federal compliance record for every regulated public water system. Open the system-level report by PWS ID:

View PWS ID PR0478064 on SDWIS

Source: EPA SDWIS Federal Reports Search

State Regulator

Puerto Rico Drinking Water Authority

Puerto Rico's primacy agency administers the Safe Drinking Water Act locally. Search EPA SDWIS for the current state contact, or use the state's public health or environment department portal.

Find PR regulator via EPA SDWIS

Violation Timeline

Each row links to the EPA SDWIS public record for verification. Cross-reference the contaminant code on EPA's federal report to see violation dates, return-to-compliance status, and enforcement actions.

Year (latest) Contaminant Category Count EPA Record
2024 LEAD AND COPPER RULE REVISIONS TT 2 SDWIS / PR0478064 / 5200
2024 LEAD AND COPPER RULE REVISIONS RPT 1 SDWIS / PR0478064 / 5200
2023 Lead and Copper Rule MR 1 SDWIS / PR0478064 / 5000
2021 Revised Total Coliform Rule MON 5 SDWIS / PR0478064 / 8000
2018 Revised Total Coliform Rule TT 2 SDWIS / PR0478064 / 8000
2018 Public Notice Other 2 SDWIS / PR0478064 / 7500
2016 Coliform (TCR) MR 293 SDWIS / PR0478064 / 3100
2014 Coliform (TCR) MCL 70 SDWIS / PR0478064 / 3100
2005 Surface Water Treatment Rule MR 59 SDWIS / PR0478064 / 0200
1993 Surface Water Treatment Rule TT 10 SDWIS / PR0478064 / 0200

How Guaraguao Compares

Cross-reference this system's record against state averages and the federal MCL framework for context.

Metric Guaraguao Puerto Rico avg Federal benchmark
Total violations 511 358.4 SDWA compliance, any non-zero count is a recorded breach
Health-based violations 84 75.7 Indicates a contaminant exceeded a federal MCL
PFAS detection None 40.4% EPA final rule (2024): PFOA/PFOS MCL = 4.0 ppt
Population served 420 7,267 Sizing context for compliance burden

Sources: EPA SDWIS and EPA National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (40 CFR Part 141). State averages computed across 458 regulated public water systems in Puerto Rico.

Federal MCL reference, Safe Drinking Water Act thresholds ▼
Contaminant Federal MCL / Action Level Note
Lead 0 mg/L (Action Level: 0.015 mg/L) Lead and Copper Rule treatment technique
Arsenic 0.010 mg/L (10 ppb) Health-based MCL since 2006
Total Coliform Treatment technique (RTCR) Indicator organism, monitoring trigger
PFOA / PFOS (PFAS) 4.0 ppt each (final 2024 rule) Compliance deadline 2029 (EPA proposed extending to 2031, not yet final as of May 2026)
Nitrate (as N) 10 mg/L Acute health risk for infants

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Guaraguao water safe to drink? ▼
Guaraguao (PWS ID: PR0478064) has 511 recorded violations in the EPA SDWIS database. No PFAS contamination was detected in UCMR5 testing. This system serves 420 people using Surface Water sources.
How many people does Guaraguao serve? ▼
Guaraguao serves 420 people in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It is a Private-owned system using Surface Water water sources with 157 service connections.
What type of violations does Guaraguao have? ▼
Guaraguao has 511 total violations: 84 health-based violations (MCL exceedances or treatment failures), 358 monitoring/reporting violations, and 14 treatment technique violations. Health-based violations indicate contaminant levels exceeded EPA safe limits.
Has PFAS been detected in Guaraguao water? ▼
No PFAS testing data is available for Guaraguao under the EPA's UCMR5 monitoring program.
What water source does Guaraguao use? ▼
Guaraguao uses Surface Water as its primary water source. It is classified as a Community Water System (CWS), serving residential populations year-round.
Where does this data come from? ▼
All data comes from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) and the UCMR5 PFAS monitoring program. SDWIS tracks compliance for all public water systems regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Data Sources: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), Q4 2025. This data is provided for informational purposes only.

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

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

Every figure on PlainWater is rendered directly from EPA SDWIS drinking-water data, no number is typed in by an editor. This system's figures are rendered directly from 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.