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 reported by 961 community water systems serving about 5,694,072 people. Every reported reading was at or below the federal legal limit. 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.
Enforceable. A utility must stay at or under this.
Health-based, not enforceable. Often lower than the limit, sometimes zero.
California has not published a PHG for this substance.
Health effects the EPA associates with it: Increase in blood pressure.
Water at or under the legal limit meets federal safety standards. A reading above a health goal is not the same as being unsafe, and health goals are set purely on health without regard to cost or treatability. Both are shown so the margin is visible either way.
Showing the 25 highest of 961 systems that reported Barium.
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.