Barium
Overview
Barium is a naturally occurring metal that dissolves from rock into groundwater. It can also come from drilling and industrial discharge.
In Florida, Barium was found in 960 community water systems serving about 5,646,486 people. It was measured by 1,559 systems in all, so it was detected in 62% of the systems that tested for it.
The highest reading relative to the limit was at Treasure Cove in Lake County, at 43% of it.
Where it comes from: Erosion of natural deposits; discharge of drilling wastes; discharge from metal refineries.
The standards
Enforceable. A utility must stay at or under this.
Health-based, not enforceable. Often lower than the limit, sometimes zero.
California OEHHA PHG (2003).
Health effects the EPA associates with it: Increase in blood pressure.
The health goal is set on health alone. The legal limit is set as close to it as is technically and economically feasible, so treatment cost and available technology are written into the number a utility is measured against. A system at or under the limit is meeting the standard it is required to meet. Both numbers are shown so the distance between them is visible.
What removes it
A water softener removes barium, which behaves like calcium in ion exchange. Reverse osmosis removes it as well. Carbon does not.
Treatment guidance describes the methods generally used for this contaminant. What your own tap actually carries depends on your plumbing and your service line as much as on the utility, which is what a test at the house tells you and an annual report cannot.
Where in Florida
Highest reported levels
Showing the 25 highest of 960 systems that reported Barium.
Data Sources
These figures describe water as delivered by each utility, not what your home’s plumbing adds after it arrives. Informational; not a substitute for testing your own tap.