Search Results Help - Drinking Water
Drinking water data displayed on ECHO are not real-time data. Violation and enforcement data are reported quarterly to the data system of record no later than the quarter following the quarter in which the events occur. Water systems, states and EPA use this additional quarter to verify that the data they are reporting are accurate and complete. Some states have more recent data available on their websites . Questions about current drinking water quality in your community can be answered by your local public water system.
As described in detail on the primary Search Results Help home page, the Search Results page presents results that meet the search criteria specified. Information and data specific to the Drinking Water facility search is described below, including:
- Learn how to customize what data are included in the data table
- View a detailed results guide that describes each data field included in the search results
- Understand basic facility summary information that is displayed
Customize the Data Table
Drinking Water search results are only displayed in Data Table view and are limited to 100,000 or fewer records. ECHO displays 500 table rows at a time and additional results are paginated. An indication of how many results are returned and which set of results are in view is provided at the bottom of the table. Results are presented in tabular format in the data table (sorted initially by PWS ID) and initially include the following columns of data (click on the links below to jump to the Results Guide for detailed descriptions of each):
- System Name
- Public Water System (PWS) ID
- State
- Counties Served
- System Type
- Primary Source Water Type
- Population Served
- Quarters with Violation (3 years)
- Enforcement Priority
- Violation Points Accrued (5 years)
- Remaining Uncorrected Violation Points
- Informal Enforcement Actions (5 years)
- Formal Enforcement Actions (5 years)
You can further manipulate the data presented using either the Customize Columns or Download Data buttons. Click Customize Columns to customize the tabular data to focus on the data most important to you. Data fields available for selection include (click on the links below to jump to the Results Guide for detailed descriptions of each):
System Information
- System Name
- Public Water System (PWS) ID
- Facility Registry Service (FRS) ID
- Reports
- Cities Served
- State
- Counties Served
- EPA Region
- In Indian Country
- System Type
- System Type Description
- Primary Source Water Type
- Source Water Type Description
- Population Served
- Primary Service Area Code
- Primary Service Area Description
- Activity Status
- Activity Status Description
- Owner
- Owner Description
Compliance Status
- Quarters with Violation (3 years)
- Quarters as an Enforcement Priority (3 years)
- Enforcement Priority
- Health-Based Violations
- Monitoring and Reporting Violations
- Public Notice Violations
- Other Violations
- Has New Violations
- Violation Categories
- Rules in Violation (3 Years)
- Rules Being Violated
- Complete Sanitary Surveys Conducted (5 years)
- Date of Last Complete Sanitary Survey
- Significant Deficiencies Found (5 years)
- Significant Deficiencies Found in Last Complete Survey
- Date of Last Survey Activity
- Significant Deficiencies Found in Last Survey Activity
Compliance Points
Site Visits
Enforcement Actions
- Informal Enforcement Actions (5 years)
- Formal Enforcement Actions (5 years)
- Date Last Informal Action
- Date Last Informal Action (EPA)
- Date Last Informal Action (State)
- Date Last Formal Action
- Date Last Formal Action (EPA)
- Date Last Formal Action (State)
Contaminants
Lead and Copper Rule
Use the Select All link to quickly include all columns for display or use the Clear All link to clear all selections. Note: System Name and PWS ID are always included and cannot be unchecked.
ECHO allows you to download your search results for further analysis. Click Download Data to download tabular data in comma-separated value (CSV) and Excel (XLS) formats. Note: Excel format is only available for 10,000 or fewer records and may require several minutes to process.
Results Guide
The search results present data from EPA's national data system, Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS). Read About the Data for more information on each data source and when the data were last updated in ECHO.See the Known Data Problems page for important notifications about data quality.
Note: Data about violations in each calendar quarter becomes available in SDWIS after the end of the following quarter. Water systems, states, and EPA use this additional three-month verification period to check the reported violation data for accuracy and completeness. The data then become available in ECHO some time after that. For example, data about violations entered by September 30 in a given year will become final in SDWIS on December 31, and become available in ECHO in January or later. The date of the latest SDWIS data available in ECHO is shown on the About the Data page, and in the "Current As Of" field of the Detailed Facility Report. Some states have more recent data available directly on their websites.
Data fields included in the search results are described below. The results page field name is listed in bold and the data download file field name is listed [within brackets in italics].
System Information
Name of the system regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
A unique identifying code for a public water system in SDWIS. It consists of a two-letter state or region code, followed by seven digits. The two-letter code indicates the state or region that regulates the water system.
A 12-character code used to uniquely identify a facility site within the EPA Facility Registry Service (FRS) database. The FRS ID is used to link together all regulatory program database records (such as permit IDs and facility IDs that facilities use in reporting to EPA).
An indicator of additional ECHO reports that are available and accessible by clicking on the corresponding icons.
Address (Cities Served, State, and Counties Served) [CitiesServed, StateCode, and CountiesServed]
City(ies), state, and county(ies) where the system provides drinking water. In some cases, the address may indicate the mailing address of the system owner. For systems in Indian Country, the state is the state primarily served by the system, if EPA can determine that from available locational data, or else the mailing address state of the system owner. Note: Data on areas served may be incomplete and have not been quality assured.
The EPA region where the system is located. EPA has 10 regional offices that execute programs within several states and territories.
A null value of "--" indicates this information is not maintained in the program data system. "N" indicates the facility is not in Indian Country, and "Y" indicates the facility is in Indian Country according to the source database.
The type of drinking water system.
Public water system (PWS) - A public water system is a system for the provision to the public of piped water for human consumption, which has at least 15 service connections or regularly serves an average of at least 25 individuals at least 60 days out of the year.- Community water system (CWS) - A public water system that serves at least 15 service connections used by year-round residents or regularly serves at least 25 year-round residents (e.g., homes, apartments and condominiums that are occupied year-round as primary residences).
- Non-community water system (NCWS) - A public water system that is not a community water system.
- Non-transient non-community water system (NTNCWS) - A non-community water system that regularly serves at least 25 of the same nonresident persons per day for more than six months per year. A typical example is a school or an office building that has its own water source, such as a drinking water well.
- Transient non-community water system (TNCWS) - A non-community water system that does not serve 25 of the same nonresident persons per day for more than six months per year. A typical example is a campground or a highway rest stop that has its own water source, such as a drinking water well.
- Unknown - The primacy agency did not report the type of system to EPA.
- Non-Public (NP) - A drinking water system reported to the EPA by a primacy agency that does not meet the definition of Public Water System above.
Primary Source Water Type [PrimarySourceCode, PrimarySourceDesc]
Primary Source Water Type categorizes the primary water source for the public water system. the source of water determines treatment requirements, or other standards. For example, the presences of any surface water sources in a public water system's inventory forces a surface water (SW) classification, even though more groundwater may be supplied than surface water. Any groundwater under the influence of surface water sources in a water system inventory necessitates a Ground Water Under the Influence of Surface Water (GUISW) classification. These higher classifications dictate higher monitoring requirements for the water system and greater public health protection.
- Surface Water - System has a surface source (e.g., river, reservoir, intake).
- Ground Water - System has a groundwater source that is not under the direct influence of surface water (e.g., protected wells) and no surface water or groundwater under the influence of surface water sources.
- Ground Water Under Direct Influence of (UDI) Surface Water - System has a source that provides water under the direct influence of surface water (e.g., unprotected well or springs) and no surface water sources.
- Purchased Surface Water - System purchases water that originates from a surface source (e.g., river, reservoir, intake.
- Purchased Groundwater - System purchases water that originates from groundwater source that is not under the direct influence of surface water (e.g., protected wells) and no surface water or groundwater under the influence of surface water sources.
- Purchased Groundwater UDI Surface Water - System purchases water that originates from a source that provides water under the direct influence of surface water(e.g., unprotected well or springs)and no surface water sources.
The estimated average daily population served by a system.
Primary Service Area Code, Primary Service Area Description [ServiceAreaTypeCode, ServiceAreaTypeDesc]
The type of service area supplied by the system.
Service Area Code Service Area Description DC Daycare Center DI Dispenser HA Homeowners Association HM Hotel/Motel HR Highway Rest Area IA Industrial/Agricultural IC Interstate Carrier IN Institution MF Medical Facility MH Mobile Home Park MP Mobile Home Park - Principal Residence MU Municipality OA Other Area ON Other Non-transient Area OR Other Residential OT Other Transient Area PA Recreation Area RA Residential Area RE Retail Employees RS Restaurant SC School SI Sanitary Improvement District SK Summer Camp SR Secondary Residences SS Service Station SU Subdivision WB Water Bottler WH Wholesaler of Water Indicates whether systems have an active or inactive designation.
- Active (A) - A system is active if it produces drinking water on a regular basis. A seasonal water system may also be considered active, if it is expected to resume operation within the year.
- Inactive (I) - Not active. This includes systems that have gone out of business or been merged into other drinking water systems.
Water system owner type (e.g., Public or Private).
Compliance Status
Important Note: All compliance and enforcement data displayed on ECHO are current as of the last official quarterly refresh of the source data system, SDWIS, which may lag by three to six months.
The number of quarters the system was in violation over the past three years. This includes the 12 most recent official quarters and new violations reported after the end of the last official quarter.
The number of quarters the system was designated by EPA as an enforcement priority over the past 3 years (12 most recent quarters).
'Yes' indicates a public water system with unresolved serious, multiple, and/or continuing violations that is designated as a priority candidate for formal enforcement, as directed by EPA's Drinking Water Enforcement Response Policy (PDF) (16 pp, 952 K, About PDF).
EPA designates systems as enforcement priority so that the drinking water system and primacy agency will act quickly to resolve the most significant noncompliance. Many public water systems with violations, however, are not designated as enforcement priority systems. Operators and the primacy agencies are expected to correct the violations at non-enforcement priority violators as well, but without the more strict requirements and deadlines applicable to enforcement priority systems. If the violations at a non-enforcement priority violator are left uncorrected, that system may become an enforcement priority violator. When an enforcement priority violator has received formal enforcement action or has returned to compliance, it is no longer designated an enforcement priority violator. EPA updates its enforcement priority violator list on a quarterly basis.
Violations of maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) or maximum residual disinfectant levels (MRDLs), which specify the highest concentrations of contaminants or disinfectants, respectively, allowed in drinking water; or of treatment technique (TT) rules, which specify required processes intended to reduce the amounts of contaminants in drinking water. MCLs, MRDLs, and treatment technique rules are all health-based drinking water standards.
Monitoring and Reporting Violations [MrFlag]
Failure to conduct regular monitoring of drinking water quality, as required by SDWA, or to submit monitoring results in a timely fashion to the primacy agency.
Violations of the public notification requirements of SDWA, which require systems to immediately alert consumers if there is a serious problem with their drinking water that may pose a risk to public health.
Violations of other requirements of SDWA, such as issuing annual consumer confidence reports or maintaining required records.
Violations that have been reported to SDWA since end of the last official quarter. These violations are considered draft and do not reflect the official compliance status for the facility.
The contaminant groups and codes in violation of a SDWA regulation. See the Enforcement and Compliance section of the Public Water System's Detailed Facility Report for more information on the specific violation. SDWA violations fall into one of the following general categories:
- Health-based violations - Violations of maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) or maximum residual disinfectant levels (MRDLs), which specify the highest concentrations of contaminants or disinfectants, respectively, allowed in drinking water; or of treatment technique (TT) rules, which specify required processes intended to reduce the amounts of contaminants in drinking water. MCLs, MRDLs, and treatment technique rules are all health-based drinking water standards.
- Monitoring and reporting (MR) violations - Failure to conduct regular monitoring of drinking water quality, as required by SDWA, or to submit monitoring results in a timely fashion to the state environmental agency or EPA.
- Public notice (PN) violations - Violations of the public notification requirements of SDWA, which require systems to immediately alert consumers if there is a serious problem with their drinking water that may pose a risk to public health.
- Other violations - Violations of other requirements of SDWA, such as issuing annual consumer confidence reports, or conducting periodic sanitary surveys.
The count of rules the system was in violation of over the past three years. This includes the 12 most recent official quarters and new violations reported after the end of the last official quarter.
The count of rules the system is violating as of the latest official quarter of data in the source system, SDWIS, which may lag by 3-6 months. This includes violations in the most recent official quarter and new violations reported after the end of the last official quarter.
Complete Sanitary Surveys Conducted (5 years) [Sansurvey5Year]
The number of sanitary surveys completed within the past five years. A sanitary survey is an on-site review of a system's water source, treatment, distribution system, storage, pumps, monitoring and reporting, management and operation, and operator compliance, intended to point out sanitary deficiencies and assess the system’s capability to supply safe drinking water.
Date of Last Complete Sanitary Survey [SignificantDeficiencyCount]
The date that the last sanitary survey was completed within the past five years.
Significant Deficiencies Found (5 years) [SignificantDeficiencyCount]
The number of significant deficiencies found from a sanitary survey within the past five years.
Significant Deficiencies Found in Last Complete Survey [SignificantDeficiencyCount]
The number of significant deficiencies found from the last complete sanitary survey.
The date of the last survey activity that took place within the past five years.
Significant Deficiencies Found in Last Survey Activity [SignificantDeficiencyCount]
The number of significant deficiencies found from the last survey activity within the past five years.
Compliance Points
EPA uses a weighted point system that reflects the degree of noncompliance at each public water system; generally more points means more violations of a serious nature. The point system allows primacy agencies – usually states – to rank public water systems in order of severity of noncompliance, so that those with more serious noncompliance can receive appropriate responses, including formal enforcement action.
Points for violations are assigned as in the following examples:
| Points | Description |
|---|---|
| 10 points |
|
| 5 points |
|
| 1 point |
|
Sum of all violation points for violations reported during the past five years (20 most recent quarters), as of the last quarterly refresh.
Sum of violation points that were not returned to compliance as of the latest quarterly refresh from the source system, which may lag by 3-6 months. Includes points that have received formal enforcement but have not returned to compliance.
Violation Points under Formal Enforcement, but Not Yet Corrected (5 years) [viofeanot]
Sum of violation points accrued during past five years (20 most recent quarters) that are under formal enforcement but not yet returned to compliance, as of the last quarterly refresh.
Violation Points Returned to Compliance by Formal Enforcement (5 years) [viortcfea]
Sum of violation points during past 5 years (20 most recent quarters) that received formal enforcement and returned to compliance, as of the last quarterly refresh.
Violation Points Returned to Compliance Without Formal Enforcement (5 years) [viortcnofea]
Sum of violation points during past 5 years (20 most recent quarters) that did not receive formal enforcement but did return to compliance, as of the last quarterly refresh.
Site Visits
Number of site visits (inspections and non-inspections) reported for the system in the last 5 years.
Number of site visits (inspections only) reported for the system in the last 5 years. Note that sanitary surveys are not considered inspections. Inspections are either site visits with a visit reason of "investigation" or "site inspection" in SDWIS, or EPA SDWA Inspection/Evaluation in ICIS.
Number of site visits (non-inspections only, including sanitary surveys) reported for the system in the last 5 years.
Enforcement Actions
There are many enforcement action types (also called "tools") available to EPA enforcement and compliance assurance programs. Some tools are used to notify regulated entities regarding potential violations (e.g., Warning Letter, Notice of Non-Compliance). Others are used to advise regulated entities of an impending enforcement action and invite settlement (e.g., Notice of Violation, Show Cause Letter, Pre-Filing Notice Letter, and Notice of Intent to File an Administrative Complaint). Others are the actual enforcement action (e.g., Administrative Penalty Order, Administrative Compliance Order).
Number of informal enforcement responses during the past 5 years (20 most recent quarters) as of the last quarterly refresh. Informal enforcement actions do not specify actions and deadlines for returning to compliance.
The full informal enforcement action definition is provided in the Detailed Facility Report Data Dictionary.
Number of formal enforcement responses during the past 5 years (20 most recent quarters) as of the last quarterly refresh. Formal enforcement actions compel a PWS to take specific actions by specific dates to return to compliance.
The full formal enforcement action definition is provided in the Detailed Facility Report Data Dictionary.
Indicates the effective date of the most recent listed informal enforcement action taken against the PWS within the last five years.
The full informal enforcement action definition is provided in the Detailed Facility Report Data Dictionary.
Indicates the effective date of the most recent listed informal enforcement action taken against the PWS by EPA within the last five years.
The full informal enforcement action definition is provided in the Detailed Facility Report Data Dictionary.
Indicates the effective date of the most recent listed informal enforcement action taken against the PWS by a state environmental agency within the last five years.
The full informal enforcement action definition is provided in the Detailed Facility Report Data Dictionary.
Indicates the effective date of the most recent listed formal enforcement action taken against the PWS within the last five years.
The full formal enforcement action definition is provided in the Detailed Facility Report Data Dictionary.
Indicates the effective date of the most recent listed formal enforcement action taken against the PWS by EPA within the last five years.
The full formal enforcement action definition is provided in the Detailed Facility Report Data Dictionary.
Indicates the effective date of the most recent listed formal enforcement action taken against the PWS by a state environmental agency within the last five years.
The full formal enforcement action definition is provided in the Detailed Facility Report Data Dictionary.
Contaminants
Contaminants in Violation (3 years) [SDWAContaminantsInViol3Year]
The contaminant name and code (in SDWIS) in violation of a SDWA regulation in the past three years. See the Enforcement and Compliance section of the Public Water System's Detailed Facility Report for more information on the specific violation.
Contaminants with Violation in Latest Quarter [SDWAContaminantsInCurViol]
The contaminant name and code (in SDWIS) in violation of a SDWA regulation. This includes violations in the most recent official quarter and new violations that have been reported since the end of the last official quarter. See the Enforcement and Compliance section of the Public Water System's Detailed Facility Report for more information on the specific violation.
Lead and Copper Rule
The count of occurrences when 90th percentile sample concentrations of lead exceeded the lead action level of 0.015 mg/L in the past five years. See the Pollutant section of the Public Water System's Detailed Facility Report for more information on the specific sample dates and exceedances.
The count of occurrences when 90th percentile sample concentrations of copper exceeded the copper action level of 1.3 mg/L in the past five years. See the Pollutant section of the Public Water System's Detailed Facility Report for more information on the specific sample dates and exceedances.
The count of open health-based violations in the past five years. These include violations of maximum contaminant levels (MCLs), maximum residual disinfectant levels (MRDLs), or treatment technique (TT) rules. This count includes new violations that have been reported since the end of the last official quarter. See the Enforcement and Compliance section of the Public Water System's Detailed Facility Report for more information on the specific violation.
View Facility Summary Information
Clicking on a row in the Results Table will display the Facility Summary panel to the right of the table. The Facility Summary panel provides a brief overview of the selected facility’s compliance information, including:
- The system name, city, state, and Public Water System ID are displayed at the top of the panel.
- Under System Characteristics, the System Type, Source Water Type, and Owner are displayed.
- Under System Compliance, the Quarters with Violation (3 years) and Number of Formal Enforcement Actions (5 years) are displayed.
- The Detailed Facility Report for the selected facility can be accessed by clicking the “More Facility Details " link on the bottom right of the panel. The Detailed Facility Report presents a concise enforcement and compliance history for a selected facility.