What Annual Reports Must Include
Every community water system serving 25 or more people must provide customers an Annual Water Quality Report (Consumer Confidence Report, or CCR) by July 1 each year. CCRs must include information on source water, treatment processes, regulated contaminants detected, and any MCL violations. Following the 2024 PFAS MCL rule, CCRs must report PFAS monitoring results once systems begin compliance monitoring.
CCRs are mailed to household addresses served by the system and posted on utility websites. The EPA’s ECHO database provides links to CCRs from utilities across the United States, enabling consumers to access their utility’s report online even if they didn’t receive it in the mail.
Finding PFAS Data in Your CCR
PFAS data appear in the regulated contaminants section of the CCR, once compliance monitoring results are available. Look for entries for PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, PFHxS, HFPO-DA (GenX), and PFBS (for mixture calculations). The CCR will show the MCL, the MCLG (maximum contaminant level goal), the range of measurements across the year, and whether any MCL was violated.
If PFAS are listed as ‘ND’ (not detected) in your CCR, check what method was used and what the detection limit was. An ‘ND’ result using an older method with a detection limit of 70 ppt is very different from ‘ND’ with a modern method detecting at 1 ppt or less. The method detection limit is the relevant qualifier for understanding what was actually measured.
Limitations and Supplementary Information
CCRs report regulatory compliance contaminants — the specific list mandated by EPA. They do not necessarily report all PFAS present; only those covered by EPA regulations must appear. For comprehensive PFAS information, ask your utility for their complete PFAS monitoring data, including UCMR5 results, which may cover additional compounds beyond the six in the MCL rule.
CCRs reflect annual average conditions and may not capture seasonal PFAS variation or contamination events that occurred between annual reporting periods. If you have concerns about PFAS between annual report cycles — particularly if you hear reports of new contamination in your area — contact your utility or state drinking water program for current testing results.