Is Bellevue, WA tap water safe?
Supplied by City of Bellevue · serves 321,349 people (73,007 connections) · Purchased surface water · EPA ID WA5305575
Data: U.S. EPA · How we read the data · How we check it
Buys water from Seattle Public Utilities, City of Redmond Water System, Coal Creek Utility District, City of Kirkland. Treated water bought from another system can carry that system's contaminants.
Summary
No federal limits exceeded in EPA data.
- PFAS
- Not detectedNone of 29 PFAS found above EPA's reporting limits in 8 samples (2023–2025).
- Lead
- No resultsNo lead and copper results in EPA's national database.
- Violations
- None health-basedNo health-based violations since 2016.
- 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 Bellevue's 2026 water quality report (Consumer Confidence Report, from the utility). It lists every regulated contaminant tested, including ones not on this page.
PFAS (“forever chemicals”)
EPA UCMR 5: 2 entry points tested Jan 2024 to Oct 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 Not detected Guideline 3,000 ppt | – |
29 PFAS tested, 0 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 8 samples (reporting limit 9 ppb). About lithium.
Lead and copper
No lead and copper results reported to EPA's national database for this system.
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 | 4.2 ppb | 300 ppb |
| Strontium | 0.03 ppm | 1.5 ppm |
| Chromium-6 | 0.18 ppb | – |
| Vanadium | 0.61 ppb | 21 ppb |
Where it serves
Bellevue
ZIP codes the system reported serving: 98004, 98005, 98006, 98007, 98008, 98009, 98015, 98027, 98039
Nearby utilities
- Sammamish Plateau Water & Sewer Sammamish · 6 mi · PFAS above limit
- City of Redmond Water System Redmond · 6 mi
- City of Kirkland Kirkland · 7 mi
- City of Renton Renton · 8 mi
- Soos Creek Water & Sewer District Renton · 8 mi
- Seattle Public Utilities Seattle · 9 mi
Questions
Is Bellevue tap water safe to drink?
Most of Bellevue gets its water from City of Bellevue. City of Bellevue has no health-based violations since 2016. 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 Bellevue water have PFAS?
EPA tested City of Bellevue for 29 PFAS between Jan 2024 and Oct 2024 and none were detected above the reporting limits (about 2 to 20 ppt depending on the chemical).
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 WA5305575: violations, enforcement and inspections, straight from EPA.
- EPA UCMR 5 data: the PFAS and lithium results (search the file for PWSID WA5305575).
- EPA SDWIS download: the lead results, population and violation records we use.
- City of Bellevue'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).
- City of Bellevue 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.