Overview
PFOA is one of thousands of PFAS, man-made 'forever chemicals' once common in nonstick, waterproof, and stain-resistant products. They break down very slowly. EPA finalized a new limit in 2024 that utilities must meet by 2029.
In Florida, PFOA was found in 109 community water systems serving about 8,684,215 people. 107 of those readings were above the federal legal limit, together serving 8,539,674 people.
The highest reading relative to the limit was at Gonzalez Utilities Association, INC. in Escambia County, at 980% of it.
Where it comes from: Industrial discharge; firefighting foam; consumer products.
The standards
Legal limit (MCL)
4 ppt
Enforceable. A utility must stay at or under this.
Federal health goal (MCLG)
Not set
Health-based, not enforceable. Often lower than the limit, sometimes zero.
California public health goal
0.007 ppt
California OEHHA PHG (2024).
Health effects the EPA associates with it: Effects on cholesterol, the liver, the immune system, and thyroid. May increase the risk of certain cancers.
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
Three methods work, and only three: granular activated carbon, anion exchange resin, and reverse osmosis. Look for certification to NSF/ANSI P473 or 53 for PFOA and PFOS specifically, because a filter that reduces chlorine and taste may do nothing here. Carbon and resin both exhaust and have to be changed on schedule, since spent media passes PFAS straight through. Boiling makes it worse by concentrating what is there.
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
Broward County1,442,390 people served2120Miami-Dade County3,091,519 people served1313Palm Beach County926,424 people served1010Lake County163,354 people served77Hillsborough County831,437 people served55Marion County168,993 people served55Volusia County164,386 people served55Escambia County296,246 people served44Sumter County57,171 people served44Polk County166,816 people served33Collier County139,668 people served33Brevard County139,408 people served33Pasco County43,313 people served33Charlotte County206,138 people served22Hernando County143,837 people served22Orange County106,205 people served22Sarasota County76,104 people served22St. Lucie County61,954 people served22Seminole County38,709 people served22Pinellas County34,174 people served22Desoto County6,188 people served22Lee County282,556 people served11Martin County43,841 people served21Santa Rosa County21,196 people served11Highlands County19,361 people served11DeSoto County8,942 people served11Alachua County3,885 people served11Highest reported levels
Water systemReadingOf limit
Gonzalez Utilities Association, INC.Cantonment · Escambia County39.2 ppt980%Orangewood Water SystemHoliday · Pasco County27.1 ppt678%Emerald Coast Utilities Authority (ECUA)Pensacola · Escambia County25.8 ppt645%Palm Springs, Village ofPalm Springs · Palm Beach County16 ppt400%Pembroke Pines, City ofPembroke Pines · Broward County14.4 ppt360%Delray Beach Public Water SystemDelray Beach · Palm Beach County14.2 ppt355%North Bay Village, City ofNorth Bay Village · Miami-Dade County14.2 ppt355%MDWASA - Main SystemMiami · Miami-Dade County14 ppt350%Riviera Beach Utility District, City ofRiviera Beach · Palm Beach County14 ppt350%NAS Pensacola / Corry StationPensacola · Escambia County13 ppt325%Sunrise SouthwestFort Lauderdale · Broward County12.3 ppt308%North Miami, City ofNorth Miami · Miami-Dade County12 ppt300%NortheastDavenport · Polk County12 ppt300%Lauderhill, City ofLauderhill · Broward County12 ppt300%Ocoee, City ofOcoee · Orange County12 ppt300%Peoples Water Service CompanyPensacola · Escambia County12 ppt300%Vc/Southwest Water SystemOrange City · Volusia County12 ppt300%Lantana Water Treatment PlantLantana · Palm Beach County11.6 ppt290%BCWWS 2aPompano Beach · Broward County11.5 ppt288%Coconut Creek, City ofCoconut Creek · Broward County11 ppt275%University of South FloridaTampa · Hillsborough County11 ppt275%Midway Water System, INC.Gulf Breeze · Santa Rosa County11 ppt275%MDWASA/Rex UtilitiesMiami · Miami-Dade County10.6 ppt265%Tarpon Springs Water SystemTarpon Springs · Pinellas County10.5 ppt263%Hialeah, City ofHialeah · Miami-Dade County10.2 ppt255%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.
