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Contaminant guide

Trichloroethylene in drinking water

The EPA limit for Trichloroethylene in drinking water is 5 µg/L. Of the 34,526 water suppliers tested, 567 had it detected.

5 µg/L
EPA limit (MCL)
1.6%
of suppliers detected it
(567/34,526)

What Trichloroethylene is, and why it's regulated

Trichloroethylene is an industrial degreasing solvent; it is a known human carcinogen.

What the EPA limit means

⚖️

5 µg/L

Maximum Contaminant Level — the enforceable ceiling a supplier must stay under.

🎯

0.0 µg/L

Health goal (MCLG) — the level with no known health effect. It is a goal, not a legal limit, and is often zero for carcinogens.

🧪

SYR4

Where these measurements come from. Hover the tag for the EPA programme and years.

Where Trichloroethylene was found

The water suppliers reporting the highest levels, worst first. For lead and copper that is the 90th-percentile result the action level is written against; for Six-Year Review data, the 95th percentile of each system's samples.

SupplierCityStateLevel vs EPA limit
Paris Water Works Paris KY
428 µg/L 8560%
of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 5 µg/L
Glendale-City, Water Dept. Glendale CA
190 µg/L 3800%
of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 5 µg/L
Burbank-City, Water Dept. Burbank CA
99 µg/L 1980%
of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 5 µg/L
La Puente Valley Cwd La Puente CA
79.3 µg/L 1586%
of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 5 µg/L
San Gabriel Valley Water Co.-El Monte El Monte CA
61 µg/L 1220%
of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 5 µg/L
El Monte-City, Water Dept. El Monte CA
58 µg/L 1160%
of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 5 µg/L
Mountain View Mobile Estates, Llc CA
51.75 µg/L 1035%
of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 5 µg/L
Calif State Polytechnical Univ - Pomona Pomona CA
42 µg/L 840%
of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 5 µg/L
Gswc - Norwalk CA
40.6 µg/L 812%
of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 5 µg/L
Valley County Water Dist. Baldwin Park CA
40.1 µg/L 802%
of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 5 µg/L
Gswc - Florence/Graham CA
39 µg/L 780%
of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 5 µg/L
Perkasie Regional Authority Sellersville PA
38.475 µg/L 770%
of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 5 µg/L
Grafton Waterworks Grafton WI
31.05 µg/L 621%
of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 5 µg/L
Schofield Barracks Schofield Barracks HI
28.28 µg/L 566%
of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 5 µg/L
Chino Basin Desalter Auth. - Desalter 1 Ontario CA
28 µg/L 560%
of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 5 µg/L
California Domestic Water Company Whittier CA
28 µg/L 560%
of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 5 µg/L
Los Angeles-City, Dept. of Water & Power Los Angeles CA
26.5 µg/L 530%
of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 5 µg/L
Modesto, City of Modesto CA
24.1 µg/L 482%
of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 5 µg/L
City of Alhambra Alhambra CA
22 µg/L 440%
of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 5 µg/L
Commerce-City, Water Dept. Montebello CA
21.0645 µg/L 421%
of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 5 µg/L
Santa Monica-City, Water Division Santa Monica CA
20.03 µg/L 401%
of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 5 µg/L
Bethpage Wd
20 µg/L 400%
of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 5 µg/L
Hillcrest Water District Southeast NY
20 µg/L 400%
of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 5 µg/L
Franklin Square Wd Stewart Manor NY
19 µg/L 380%
of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 5 µg/L
City of Fresno Fresno CA
18 µg/L 360%
of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 5 µg/L

Frequently asked questions about Trichloroethylene

What is Trichloroethylene in drinking water?

Trichloroethylene is an industrial degreasing solvent; it is a known human carcinogen.

What is the EPA limit for Trichloroethylene?

The EPA's Maximum Contaminant Level for Trichloroethylene is 5 µg/L, and its health goal (MCLG) is 0.0 µg/L. A result above the limit means the supplier must act; the goal is the level at which no health effects are expected.

How common is Trichloroethylene in US tap water?

Of the 34,526 water suppliers with results on file, 567 detected Trichloroethylene — 1.6% of those tested.