Sulfate is a naturally occurring mineral common in Florida's limestone aquifers. It is regulated for taste and its laxative effect, not toxicity.
In Florida, Sulfate was reported by 928 community water systems serving about 3,497,717 people. Every reported reading was at or below the federal legal limit.
The highest reading relative to the limit was at City of North Port Utilities in Sarasota County, at 281% of it.
Where it comes from: Erosion of natural deposits.
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: Not a long-term health concern. High sulfate gives water a bitter taste and can have a temporary laxative effect on people not used to it (and a rotten-egg smell when it turns to hydrogen sulfide).
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 928 systems that reported Sulfate.
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.