Is Fort Wayne, IN tap water safe?
Supplied by Fort Wayne – 3 Rivers Filtration Plant · serves 269,994 people (109,896 connections) · Surface water · EPA ID IN5202020
Data: U.S. EPA · How we read the data · How we check it
Most of Fort Wayne gets its water from Fort Wayne – 3 Rivers Filtration Plant. Parts of the city are served by 3 smaller systems: Sunnymede Community Association Water (473 people), Country Court Estates Water System (362 people), Mill Road Estates Water System (150 people). Your water bill names your system.
Summary
No federal limits exceeded in EPA data.
- PFAS
- Detected, below limit2 of 29 PFAS found at least once. All averages below the federal limits.
- Lead
- Below action level2.62 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 Jun 2026. Your home's pipes can make yours higher.
- Violations
- Resolved1 health-based violation since 2016, most recently Jan 2022.
- 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 Fort Wayne – 3 Rivers Filtration Plant's 2026 water quality report (Consumer Confidence Report, from the utility). It lists every regulated contaminant tested, including ones not on this page. Questions: (260) 427-6054.
PFAS (“forever chemicals”)
EPA UCMR 5: 1 entry point tested Jun 2023 to Mar 2024. "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 Not detected Limit 4 ppt | – |
| 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 Detected, below limit Guideline 3,000 ppt | 1.03 ppt |
| PFPeA Detected, no limit | 5.68 ppt |
29 PFAS tested, 2 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 4 samples (reporting limit 9 ppb). About lithium.
Lead and copper
Latest 90th percentile: 2.62 ppb lead (Jan 2026 – Jun 2026). Below action level
Highest since 2016: 18.4 ppb (Dec 2018).
| Monitoring period | Lead (90th pct.) |
|---|---|
| Jan 2026 – Jun 2026 | 2.62 ppb |
| Jul 2025 – Dec 2025 | 2.61 ppb |
| Jan 2025 – Jun 2025 | 4.26 ppb |
Earlier results (9)
| Jul 2024 – Dec 2024 | 4.69 ppb |
| Jan 2024 – Jun 2024 | 3.45 ppb |
| Jul 2023 – Dec 2023 | 3.84 ppb |
| Jan 2023 – Jun 2023 | 3.17 ppb |
| Jul 2022 – Dec 2022 | 3.1 ppb |
| Jan 2022 – Jun 2022 | 4.8 ppb |
| Jan 2021 – Dec 2021 | 15.7 ppb |
| Jan 2020 – Dec 2020 | 3.1 ppb |
| Jul 2019 – Dec 2019 | 9 ppb |
Lead service lines: Fort Wayne – 3 Rivers Filtration Plant publishes a service line inventory where you can look up what your line is made of. It doesn't publish summary counts.
Look up your address · Source (the utility, collected by us on Nov 14, 2026, not EPA data) · Checking your own line
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 |
|---|---|
| Jan 2022 | The system did not complete a required study of how to keep lead and copper from dissolving out of pipes. EPA record: Lead and Copper Rule · OCCT/SOWT Study/Recommendation (limit TT ) 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Vanadium | 3.3 ppb | 21 ppb |
| Chromium-6 | 0.29 ppb | – |
| Strontium | 0.37 ppm | 1.5 ppm |
| Molybdenum | 11 ppb | 40 ppb |
| Chlorate | 170 ppb | 210 ppb |
Where it serves
Fort Wayne
ZIP codes the system reported serving: 46774, 46783, 46788, 46798, 46802, 46803, 46804, 46805, 46806, 46807, 46808, 46809, 46814, 46815, 46816, 46818, 46819, 46825, 46835, 46845
Nearby utilities
- Indiana American Water – Muncie Muncie · 63 mi
- Indiana American Water – Kokomo Kokomo · 67 mi
- South Bend Water Works South Bend · 71 mi · PFAS above limit
- Anderson Water Department Anderson · 75 mi
- Carmel Water Department Carmel · 93 mi
- Citizens Water of Westfield, LLC Carmel · 93 mi
Questions
Is Fort Wayne tap water safe to drink?
Most of Fort Wayne gets its water from Fort Wayne – 3 Rivers Filtration Plant. Fort Wayne – 3 Rivers Filtration Plant had 1 health-based violation since 2016, all since resolved. EPA testing found no PFAS above the federal limits. 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 Fort Wayne water have PFAS?
Yes. EPA's 2023–2025 testing of Fort Wayne – 3 Rivers Filtration Plant found 2 PFAS at least once. None of the averages were above the federal limits.
What is the lead level in Fort Wayne water?
The most recent 90th-percentile lead result for Fort Wayne – 3 Rivers Filtration Plant is 2.62 ppb, for the period ending Jun 2026. 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 IN5202020: violations, enforcement and inspections, straight from EPA.
- EPA UCMR 5 data: the PFAS and lithium results (search the file for PWSID IN5202020).
- EPA SDWIS download: the lead results, population and violation records we use.
- Fort Wayne – 3 Rivers Filtration Plant's 2026 water quality report: the utility's own annual report, including contaminants EPA's national database doesn't carry (link checked Nov 14, 2026). Phone: (260) 427-6054.
- Fort Wayne – 3 Rivers Filtration Plant website
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.