Is Tallahassee, FL tap water safe?
Supplied by City of Tallahassee · serves 200,480 people (86,043 connections) · Groundwater · EPA ID FL1370655
Data: U.S. EPA · How we read the data · How we check it
Most of Tallahassee gets its water from City of Tallahassee. Parts of the city are served by 17 smaller systems: Plantation Estates (369 people), Brewster Subdivision (364 people), Blount's Landing Water System (291 people), Meadow Hills S/D Water System (263 people) and 13 more. Your water bill names your system.
Summary
PFAS above the 2024 federal limits. Systems have until 2029 to meet the PFAS limits.
Is it an emergency? No: PFAS limits are about years of exposure, not a glass of water, and nothing in EPA's data calls for you to stop drinking the water today. If your utility ever issues a boil-water or do-not-drink notice, follow it.
- PFAS
- Above limitPFOS above the federal limit in EPA's 2023–2025 testing (PFOS 7.65 ppt vs a limit of 4 ppt, where ppt = parts per trillion).
- Lead
- Below action level1.4 ppb (parts per billion) at the 90th percentile: 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below it. Action level 15 ppb, falling to 10 ppb in Nov 2027. Monitoring period ending Dec 2023. Your home's pipes can make yours higher.
- Violations
- None health-basedNo health-based violations since 2016.
- Pregnant, or mixing baby formula with tap water? Babies drink more water for their size, so PFAS exposure matters more for them. Consider bottled water or a filter certified for PFAS for formula, and ask your doctor. Health effects.
- To lower your PFAS exposure now, a home filter certified for PFAS reduction works (reverse osmosis, or activated carbon certified to NSF/ANSI 53 or 58). Filters for these results.
- Built before 1986, or not sure what your service line is made of? Check your service line and test your tap. Utility data can't show your pipes.
- Tested your own tap? Compare your result with these numbers. Moving? Compare this system with another.
- Read City of Tallahassee's annual water quality report (Consumer Confidence Report). It lists every regulated contaminant tested and is usually on the utility's website or mailed with your bill, and you can also request it at (850) 891-5271. EPA: how to find it.
PFAS (“forever chemicals”)
EPA UCMR 5: 25 entry points tested Jan 2024 to Jan 2025. "Average" is the highest entry-point average (non-detects counted as zero), the way EPA compares UCMR 5 results to the limits. ppt = parts per trillion. These results do not determine compliance.
| Contaminant | Highest average |
|---|---|
| PFOA Not detected Limit 4 ppt | – |
| PFOS Above limit Limit 4 ppt | 7.65 ppt 1.91× the limit |
| PFHxS Detected, below limit Limit 10 ppt | 3.5 ppt 35% of the limit |
| PFNA Not detected Limit 10 ppt | – |
| HFPO-DA (GenX) Not detected Limit 10 ppt | – |
| Hazard Index (a combined score for PFHxS, PFNA, GenX and PFBS, where above 1 is over the limit) Detected, below limit Limit 1 | 0.35 |
| PFBS Detected, below limit Guideline 2,000 ppt | 1.6 ppt |
| PFBA Not detected Guideline 6,000 ppt | – |
| PFHxA Not detected Guideline 3,000 ppt | – |
What the utility says it is doing: The City says its Woodville well, at 7.5 ppt PFOS in April 2026 testing, is the only one of its wells above the 4 ppt standard. It says it optimized distribution-system flow and is evaluating long-term treatment through a pilot project at that well.
Source: PFAS - City of Tallahassee, 2026-04. Collected by us on Nov 14, 2026, not from EPA's data. Ask the utility for the latest.
For context: the PFOS average is higher than at 76% of the Florida systems EPA tested.
29 PFAS tested, 3 detected at least once. "Not detected" means below EPA's reporting limit (about 2 to 20 ppt depending on the chemical), not proven zero. PFAS not listed were not detected. The limits for PFHxS, PFNA, GenX and the Hazard Index were proposed for rescission in May 2026. That proposal is not final. Systems have until 2029 to meet the limits.
Lithium
Not detected in 50 samples (reporting limit 9 ppb). About lithium.
Lead and copper
Latest 90th percentile: 1.4 ppb lead (Jan 2023 – Dec 2023). Below action level
Highest since 2016: 2.1 ppb (Dec 2017).
| Monitoring period | Lead (90th pct.) |
|---|---|
| Jan 2023 – Dec 2023 | 1.4 ppb |
| Jan 2020 – Dec 2020 | 2 ppb |
| Jan 2017 – Dec 2017 | 2.1 ppb |
Earlier results (9)
| Jan 2014 – Dec 2014 | 1 ppb |
| Jan 2011 – Dec 2011 | 3 ppb |
| Jan 2010 – Dec 2010 | 2 ppb |
| Jan 2007 – Dec 2007 | 2.3 ppb |
| Jan 2002 – Dec 2004 | 3.1 ppb |
| Jan 2002 – Dec 2004 | 3.1 ppb |
| Jan 1999 – Dec 2001 | 3 ppb |
| Jan 1998 – Dec 1998 | 6.9 ppb |
| Jan 1995 – Dec 1995 | 4.9 ppb |
Lead comes from pipes and fixtures, not the source water, so it varies home to home. The 90th percentile means 9 in 10 sampled homes were at or below it. More on lead.
Violations
Health-based violations mean a contaminant exceeded a limit or a required treatment step was missed. Monitoring and reporting violations mean required tests or reports were late or missing, so the water's quality during that time is unknown. The total includes every violation in EPA's records, most of them paperwork.
Earlier EPA testing (2013–2020)
| Contaminant | Highest | Guideline |
|---|---|---|
| Manganese | 22 ppb | 300 ppb |
| Molybdenum | 7.5 ppb | 40 ppb |
| Strontium | 0.13 ppm | 1.5 ppm |
| Chromium-6 | 1.5 ppb | – |
| Chlorate | 33 ppb | 210 ppb |
| Vanadium | 15 ppb | 21 ppb |
Where it serves
Tallahassee
ZIP codes the system reported serving: 32301, 32302, 32303, 32304, 32305, 32306, 32307, 32308, 32309, 32310, 32311, 32312, 32313, 32314, 32316, 32317, 32362, 32399
Nearby utilities
- Bradfordville Regional Water & Sewer Quincy · 21 mi · PFAS above limit
- City of Sopchoppy Sopchoppy · 31 mi · PFAS above limit
- City of Perry Perry · 47 mi · PFAS above limit
- City of Marianna Marianna · 63 mi · PFAS above limit
- City of Panama City Beach Panama City · 87 mi
- Gainesville Regional Utilities – Murphree Water Treatment Plant Gainesville · 125 mi
Questions
Is Tallahassee tap water safe to drink?
Most of Tallahassee gets its water from City of Tallahassee. City of Tallahassee has no health-based violations since 2016. EPA testing found PFAS above the 2024 federal limits, which systems must meet by 2029. Federal data can't tell you about your own pipes: lead comes from service lines and plumbing, so test your tap if your home was built before 1986. For the official word, read the utility's annual Consumer Confidence Report.
Does Tallahassee water have PFAS?
Yes. EPA's 2023–2025 testing of City of Tallahassee found 3 PFAS at least once. The highest entry-point averages were above the federal limit for PFOS: PFOS 7.65 ppt (limit 4 ppt for PFOA and PFOS, 10 ppt for the others).
What is the lead level in Tallahassee water?
The most recent 90th-percentile lead result for City of Tallahassee is 1.4 ppb, for the period ending Dec 2023. The federal action level is 15 ppb, falling to 10 ppb in November 2027. The 90th percentile means 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below this number. Individual homes can be higher.
Check these numbers yourself
Every figure on this page comes from public EPA records. You don't have to take our word for it:
- EPA's own report for FL1370655: violations, enforcement and inspections, straight from EPA.
- EPA UCMR 5 data: the PFAS and lithium results (search the file for PWSID FL1370655).
- EPA SDWIS download: the lead results, population and violation records we use.
- The utility's annual water quality report (Consumer Confidence Report): ask City of Tallahassee at (850) 891-5271, or see EPA's guide to finding it.
Found something that doesn't match? Tell us and we'll check it against EPA's records. How we check our data.
Source: U.S. EPA drinking water records and PFAS testing (UCMR 5). How we read the data.