Community Water Systems

Marion County is supplied by three community water systems: Citizens Energy Group, City of Lawerence Utilities, and Speedway Water Works. Water systems are required by federal law to test their water for the contaminants included below. This data is provided by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) and is submitted to them on a regular basis by the community water systems, as required by state and federal law.

Use the menu to the left to select the contaminant and water systems to view. The red bar represents the maximum contaminant level (MCL) established by law.

What is a Community Water System (CWS)?

Public water systems provide drinking water to over 90% of people in the U.S. These public water systems are categorized by the EPA based on how many people they serve, how much of the year they serve their population, and water source. A community water system, or CWS, is a public water system that supplies water to the same population year-round. Three such systems (Citizens Energy Group, City of Lawrence Utilities, and Speedway Water Works) provide drinking water to more than 924,000 residents of Marion County.

For more information on public water systems, visit the EPA website

How is a CWS Regulated?

Community water systems are regulated by the EPA. Regulatory practices ensure safe drinking water in several ways including setting legal limits on over 90 contaminants, setting water-testing schedules to monitor contaminants, requiring each CWS to provide an annual Consumer Confidence Report, and by researching unregulated contaminants.

For more information on CWS regulations, visit the EPA website.

What Are the Contaminants Listed Here?

  • Arsenic: Arsenic is a naturally occurring element that can be found in rocks, soil, plants, and water. Arsenic can also be released into the environment from man-made sources, such as wood preservation, mining, coal fired power plants, and pesticides. Since arsenic is naturally occurring, it cannot be completely removed from the environment. Exposure is associated with cancer, preterm birth, metabolic diseases, and other chronic health conditions. The EPA has set the MCL for arsenic at 10 μg/L.

  • Atrazine: Atrazine is a commonly used agricultural herbicide that does not occur naturally. It enters surface water through crop field runoff, and groundwater through the soil. Atrazine typically breaks down within days to months in soil but can persist in water for extended periods of time. Exposure is associated with reproductive harm, damage to the liver, kidneys, and heart, and cancer. The EPA has set the MCL for atrazine at 3 µg/L.

  • Combined Radium 226 & 228: Radium is a radionuclide that occurs naturally in the soil and is the result of the breakdown of uranium. Groundwater is more susceptible to radium contamination. Radium 226 and radium 228 are the most common radium isotopes. Exposure to radium is associated with cancer. The EPA has set the MCL for combined radium 226 & 228 at 5 pCi/L.

  • DEHP: DEHP, or di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, is a chemical added to plastic to increase flexibility. It is a man-made chemical with no natural source. It enters the environment through factory releases or through items containing it. Over extended periods of time, it can leach out of plastics and into the environment. Exposure to DEHP is associated with cancer and reproductive harm. The EPA has set the MCL for DEHP at 6 µg/L.

  • Nitrate: Nitrate is a compound that can enter a drinking water supply from both natural and man-made sources. Sources of nitrate include fertilizer, septic tanks, wastewater runoff, landfills, decaying plant debris, and animal feedlots. High levels of nitrate can be harmful to human health because it can interfere with the ability of blood to carry oxygen throughout the body, especially in babies. The EPA has set the MCL for nitrate at 10 µg/L.

  • PCE: PCE, or Tetrachloroethylene, is a chemical used in dry cleaning, as a metal degreaser, and as a building block for making other chemicals. It enters the environment from places where it is produced or used and can migrate through the soil to contaminate groundwater. Exposure to PCE is associated with damage to the nervous system, liver and kidneys, reproductive harm, and cancer. The EPA has set the MCL for PCE at 5 µg/L.

  • TCE: TCE, or Trichloroethylene, is a chemical used in metal degreasing and household products such as paint remover, adhesive, and spot removers. It enters the environment from places it is used or disposed of and seeps through the soil to groundwater. Exposure to TCE is associated with damage to the nervous system, liver, kidneys and immune system, reproductive harm, and cancer. The EPA has set the MCL for PCE at 5 µg/L.

  • HAA5 & TTHM: Haloaceitic Acids (HAA5) and Trihalomethanes (TTHM) are byproducts of the water disinfection process. Most drinking water is required to be treated with disinfectants, such as chlorine or chloramines, to kill harmful bacteria and viruses that may live in source water. When chemical disinfectants combine with substances found in untreated water, disinfection byproducts, or DBPs, are formed. Although this is an important part of the water treatment process, high levels of some DBPs can be harmful to human health by increasing the risk of some types of cancer. The EPA has set the MCL for HAA5 at 60 µg/L and TTHM at 80 µg/L.

    • For more information on DBPs, visit the Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s Drinking Water site: https://www.in.gov/idem/cleanwater/drinking-water/

Resources

About the Data

  • Non-detect tests were converted into values so that averages could be created. Non-detect does not mean that the contaminant is not present, but instead that the concentration is low enough that testing methods cannot detect it. Thus, assigning a non-detect test a value of zero would not be accurate. Instead, the value was created by dividing the detection limit in half. For example, a non-detect test with a detection limit of 0.5 mg/L would be converted to 0.25 mg/L.

  • Some contaminants are not required to be tested for yearly, which is why there are systems missing test results.

  • The contaminants included on this page are those selected by the Environmental Public Health Tracking Network. For the full list of contaminants included in the National Primary Drinking Water Regulations, visit the EPA website. Note that the EPA displays most MCLs using mg/L (milligrams per liter) while MCPHD uses µg/L (micrograms per liter). One µg/L is equal to 0.001 mg/L.