Dichloromethane

Systems reporting it
21
People served
120,729
Over the legal limit
1
Legal limit (MCL)
5 ppb

Overview

Also called methylene chloride, a solvent used in paint stripping and manufacturing.

In Florida, Dichloromethane was reported by 21 community water systems serving about 120,729 people. 1 of those readings were above the federal legal limit, together serving 268 people.

The highest reading relative to the limit was at Florida Heights S/D in Marion County, at 124% of it.

Where it comes from: Discharge from pharmaceutical and chemical factories.

The standards

Legal limit (MCL)
5 ppb

Enforceable. A utility must stay at or under this.

Federal health goal (MCLG)
0 ppb

Health-based, not enforceable. Often lower than the limit, sometimes zero.

California public health goal
4 ppb

California OEHHA PHG (2000)

Health effects the EPA associates with it: Liver problems and increased cancer risk.

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.

Where in Florida

Highest reported levels

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Data Sources

EPA SDWISSystem identity, population, countyret. 2026
FDEPFlorida drinking-water chemical monitoringret. 2026
CCREach utility’s own annual reportret. 2026

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.