Is Boca Raton, FL tap water safe?
Supplied by Boca Raton Water Treatment Plant · serves 130,000 people (37,134 connections) · Groundwater · EPA ID FL4500130
Data: U.S. EPA · How we read the data · How we check it
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 6.45 ppt vs a limit of 4 ppt, where ppt = parts per trillion).
- Lead
- Below action level0.6 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
- Resolved1 health-based violation since 2016, most recently Aug 2019. One required an urgent public notice within 24 hours (the kind behind boil-water notices), most recently Aug 2019. What to do if you get a notice.
- 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.
- Got a boil-water or do-not-drink notice? What each notice means and what to do.
- Tested your own tap? Compare your result with these numbers. Moving? Compare this system with another.
- Read Boca Raton Water Treatment Plant'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 (561) 239-3071. EPA: how to find it.
PFAS (“forever chemicals”)
EPA UCMR 5: 1 entry point tested Jul 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 | 6.45 ppt 1.61× the limit |
| PFHxS Not detected Limit 10 ppt | – |
| 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) Not detected Limit 1 | – |
| PFBS Not detected Guideline 2,000 ppt | – |
| PFBA Not detected Guideline 6,000 ppt | – |
| PFHxA Not detected Guideline 3,000 ppt | – |
What the utility says it is doing: The Coastal Star reported in July 2025 that Boca Raton would receive $32 million from the PFAS manufacturer settlement to help pay for a $55 million water treatment system to remove more PFAS, with construction expected to finish around 2031.
Source: Boca Raton gets $32 million in forever chemicals suit settlement (news report), 2025-07-02. 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 74% of the Florida systems EPA tested.
29 PFAS tested, 1 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 2 samples (reporting limit 9 ppb). About lithium.
Lead and copper
Latest 90th percentile: 0.6 ppb lead (Jan 2023 – Dec 2023). Below action level
Highest since 2016: 1.8 ppb (Dec 2020).
| Monitoring period | Lead (90th pct.) |
|---|---|
| Jan 2023 – Dec 2023 | 0.6 ppb |
| Jan 2020 – Dec 2020 | 1.8 ppb |
| Jan 2017 – Dec 2017 | 1.3 ppb |
Earlier results (9)
| Jan 2014 – Dec 2014 | 3.2 ppb |
| Jan 2011 – Dec 2011 | 2.4 ppb |
| Jul 2009 – Dec 2009 | 3.5 ppb |
| Jan 2009 – Jun 2009 | 3.1 ppb |
| Jan 2008 – Dec 2008 | 3.4 ppb |
| Jul 2007 – Dec 2007 | 3.8 ppb |
| Jan 2007 – Jun 2007 | 4.8 ppb |
| Jul 2006 – Dec 2006 | 2.9 ppb |
| Jan 2003 – Dec 2003 | 5.4 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
| When | What happened |
|---|---|
| Aug 2019 | E. coli was confirmed in the water. E. coli means the water may have been contaminated with sewage or animal waste. Urgent public notice required What that means EPA record: Revised Total Coliform Rule · Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, E. coli (RTCR) Resolved |
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 | 1.61 ppb | 300 ppb |
| Chlorate | 360 ppb | 210 ppb |
| Strontium | 0.2 ppm | 1.5 ppm |
| Vanadium | 0.61 ppb | 21 ppb |
| Chromium-6 | 0.078 ppb | – |
Where it serves
Boca Raton
ZIP codes the system reported serving: 33431, 33432, 33433, 33434, 33486, 33487, 33496
Nearby utilities
- City of Deerfield Beach Deerfield Beach · 4 mi · PFAS above limit
- Delray Beach Public Water System Delray Beach · 6 mi
- City of Coconut Creek Coconut Creek · 8 mi · PFAS above limit
- BCWWS 2A Pompano Beach · 9 mi · PFAS above limit
- City of Pompano Pompano Beach · 9 mi · PFAS above limit
- Boynton Beach Public Water System Boynton Beach · 11 mi · PFAS above limit
Questions
Is Boca Raton tap water safe to drink?
Most of Boca Raton gets its water from Boca Raton Water Treatment Plant. Boca Raton Water Treatment Plant had 1 health-based violation since 2016, all since resolved. 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 Boca Raton water have PFAS?
Yes. EPA's 2023–2025 testing of Boca Raton Water Treatment Plant found 1 PFAS at least once. The highest entry-point averages were above the federal limit for PFOS: PFOS 6.45 ppt (limit 4 ppt for PFOA and PFOS, 10 ppt for the others).
What is the lead level in Boca Raton water?
The most recent 90th-percentile lead result for Boca Raton Water Treatment Plant is 0.6 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 FL4500130: violations, enforcement and inspections, straight from EPA.
- EPA UCMR 5 data: the PFAS and lithium results (search the file for PWSID FL4500130).
- EPA SDWIS download: the lead results, population and violation records we use.
- The utility's annual water quality report (Consumer Confidence Report): ask Boca Raton Water Treatment Plant at (561) 239-3071, 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.