Florida Water Report
Schedule a consultation

Mercury (inorganic)

Systems reporting it
67
People served
771,000
Over the legal limit
0
Legal limit (MCL)
0.002 ppm

Overview

Inorganic mercury can enter water from natural deposits, refineries, and runoff from farmland.

In Florida, Mercury (inorganic) was found in 67 community water systems serving about 771,000 people. It was measured by 1,559 systems in all, so it was detected in 4% of the systems that tested for it.

The highest reading relative to the limit was at Lee County Utilities in Lee County, at 10000% of it.

Where it comes from: Erosion of natural deposits; discharge from refineries and factories; runoff from landfills and croplands.

The standards

Legal limit (MCL)
0.002 ppm

Enforceable. A utility must stay at or under this.

Federal health goal (MCLG)
0.002 ppm

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

California public health goal
1.2 ppb

California OEHHA PHG (1999). For comparison the legal limit is 2 ppb.

Health effects the EPA associates with it: Kidney damage.

1 reported value is inconsistent with the stated unit by a margin that points to a recording error rather than a measurement. It is shown as reported below but not counted as an exceedance.

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

Reverse osmosis, or carbon specifically certified to NSF/ANSI 53 for mercury. Ordinary carbon is not enough.

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

CountySystemsOver limit
Lee County282,756 people served2NoneMiami-Dade County180,000 people served1NoneBrevard County167,853 people served2NoneSt. Johns County61,310 people served1NoneCollier County32,080 people served2NoneEscambia County13,285 people served1NoneWakulla County10,637 people served1NonePolk County3,680 people served8NoneSumter County3,547 people served2NoneHillsborough County2,872 people served15NoneSarasota County2,538 people served2NoneMarion County2,191 people served8NonePasco County1,937 people served10NonePinellas County1,799 people served1NoneOkaloosa County1,500 people served1NoneDuval County1,015 people served1NoneAlachua County800 people served1NoneColumbia County250 people served1NoneHolmes County242 people served1NoneFlagler County100 people served1NoneHendry County71 people served1NoneHernando County67 people served1NonePutnam County45 people served1None

Highest reported levels

Water systemReadingOf limit
Lee County UtilitiesFort Myers · Lee County0.2 ppm10000%Marco Island Utilities (City Of)Marco Island · Collier County0.002 ppm100%Lee Cypress CO-OpNaples · Collier County0.002 ppm100%University of West FloridaPensacola · Escambia County0.001 ppm55%Neighborhood Utilities (Timber Creek)Jacksonville · Duval County0.001 ppm50%Sandy AcresUmatilla · Marion County0.001 ppm50%Ocala Garden ApartmentsOcala · Marion County0.001 ppm45%Cax-Lakeshore LLCTampa · Hillsborough County0.001 ppm30%Lakemont Ridge Home & RV ParkFrostproof · Polk County0.001 ppm30%Tampa Bay Water/Lake BridgeLand O' Lakes · Pasco County0.001 ppm30%Eglin 7th Special Forces GroupEglin Afb · Okaloosa County0 ppm20%Golden Hills MHPOcala · Marion County0 ppm20%Noma Water WorksBonifay · Holmes County0 ppm20%Flying Cloud TpTampa · Hillsborough County0 ppm20%Ile UtilitiesIndian Lake Estates · Polk County0 ppm15%Pinecrest Utilitie, LLCBartow · Polk County0 ppm15%Melbourne, City ofMelbourne · Brevard County0 ppm10%Bushnell, City ofBushnell · Sumter County0 ppm10%Camelot LakesSarasota · Sarasota County0 ppm10%Kings Gate ClubNokomis · Sarasota County0 ppm10%Woodland Lakes MHPLake Alfred · Polk County0 ppm10%Fairfax Hills SubdivisionSummerfield · Marion County0 ppm10%Verndale ApartmentsLake City · Columbia County0 ppm10%Bay Hills Village Condo AssociationThonotosassa · Hillsborough County0 ppm10%Oak Harbour RV VillageHaines City · Polk County0 ppm10%

Showing the 25 highest of 67 systems that reported Mercury (inorganic).

Know when your water changes

We will email you when new readings, violations or health goals land for your system.

Or schedule a water consultation.

Data Sources

EPA SDWISSystem identity, population, countyret. 2026
FDEPFlorida drinking-water chemical monitoringret. 2026
CCREach utility’s own annual reportret. 2026
CA OEHHACalifornia public health goals, the health-based benchmark where one is publishedret. 2026
FWROur own benchmarks, only where no government body has published one, each citing the official source it is built onret. 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.