PRASA – Las Bocas water quality
Barranquitas, PR · serves 11,022 people (4,128 connections) · Surface water · Local government · EPA ID PR0004945
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 6.9 ppt vs a limit of 4 ppt, where ppt = parts per trillion).
- Lead
- Out of dateEPA's national database has no lead results for this system since 2015 (then 6 ppb, 90th percentile). Systems this size normally test every one to three years, so this most likely means newer results were not reported to EPA, not that testing stopped. Ask the utility for its latest results.
- Violations
- Resolved22 health-based violations since 2016, most recently Dec 2023. One required an urgent public notice within 24 hours (the kind behind boil-water notices), most recently Dec 2023. 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 PRASA – Las Bocas'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. EPA: how to find it.
PFAS (“forever chemicals”)
EPA UCMR 5: 9 entry points tested Feb 2024 to Sep 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 | 6.9 ppt 1.72× 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 | – |
| PFPeA Detected, no limit | 1.5 ppt |
For context: the PFOS average is higher than at 92% of the Puerto Rico systems EPA tested.
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 20 samples (reporting limit 9 ppb). About lithium.
Lead and copper
Latest 90th percentile: 6 ppb lead (Jul 2015 – Dec 2015). No results since 2015
This is the newest lead result in EPA's national database. Utilities report lead results to their state, and states pass them to EPA. Gaps like this usually mean the newer results did not reach EPA's database, not that the utility stopped testing. Results this old may not reflect the water today. Ask the utility or your state drinking water program for the latest lead monitoring.
| Monitoring period | Lead (90th pct.) |
|---|---|
| Jul 2015 – Dec 2015 | 6 ppb |
| Jul 2014 – Dec 2014 | 6 ppb |
| Jul 2013 – Dec 2013 | 6 ppb |
Earlier results (9)
| Jul 2012 – Dec 2012 | 6 ppb |
| Jul 2011 – Dec 2011 | 6 ppb |
| Jan 2011 – Jun 2011 | 6 ppb |
| Jul 2010 – Dec 2010 | 5 ppb |
| Jan 2010 – Jun 2010 | 5 ppb |
| Jan 2009 – Jun 2009 | 5 ppb |
| Jan 2008 – Jun 2008 | 2 ppb |
| Jul 2007 – Dec 2007 | 3 ppb |
| Jan 2007 – Jun 2007 | 1.7 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 |
|---|---|
| Dec 2023 | The water was cloudier than allowed at least once. Cloudiness can shield germs from disinfection. Urgent public notice required What that means EPA record: Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule · Single Turbidity Exceed (Enhanced SWTR) (limit ) Resolved |
| Dec 2018 – Jun 2019 2 times | A required step to remove or kill germs (filtration, disinfection or fixing a contaminated well) was not done properly. EPA record: Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule · Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR) (limit ) Archived |
| Jan 2017 – Nov 2018 19 times | A required step to remove or kill germs (filtration, disinfection or fixing a contaminated well) was not done properly. EPA record: Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule · Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR) (limit ) Resolved |
10 unresolved monitoring or reporting violations: Public Notice.
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.
Where it serves
Barranquitas
ZIP codes the system reported serving: 00794
Nearby utilities
- PRASA – Aibonito la Plata Aibonito · 4 mi · PFAS above limit
- PRASA – Aibonito Urbano Aibonito · 4 mi · PFAS above limit
- PRASA – Cidra Urbano Cidra · 10 mi · PFAS above limit
- PRASA – Salinas Urbano Salinas · 14 mi · PFAS above limit
- PRASA – Aruz Juana Díaz · 16 mi · PFAS above limit
- PRASA – Experimental Juana Díaz · 16 mi · PFAS above limit
Questions
Is PRASA – Las Bocas water safe to drink?
PRASA – Las Bocas had 22 health-based violations 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 PRASA – Las Bocas water have PFAS?
Yes. EPA's 2023–2025 testing of PRASA – Las Bocas found 2 PFAS at least once. The highest entry-point averages were above the federal limit for PFOS: PFOS 6.9 ppt (limit 4 ppt for PFOA and PFOS, 10 ppt for the others).
What is the lead level in PRASA – Las Bocas water?
The most recent 90th-percentile lead result for PRASA – Las Bocas is 6 ppb, for the period ending Dec 2015, which is more than five years old. 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 PR0004945: violations, enforcement and inspections, straight from EPA.
- EPA UCMR 5 data: the PFAS and lithium results (search the file for PWSID PR0004945).
- EPA SDWIS download: the lead results, population and violation records we use.
- The utility's annual water quality report (Consumer Confidence Report): ask PRASA – Las Bocas, 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.