DeSoto County Utilities
Overview
DeSoto County Utilities is a public drinking-water system serving about 3,518 people in Desoto County, Florida.
Lead (90th pct, tap) was detected in this system’s water. EPA states its health effects: in infants and children: delays in physical or mental development; in adults: kidney problems and high blood pressure.
HAA5 (Haloacetic Acids) was detected in this system’s water. EPA states its health effects: may increase the risk of cancer.
TTHM (Total Trihalomethanes) was detected in this system’s water. EPA states its health effects: may increase the risk of cancer; liver, kidney, or central nervous system effects.
EPA’s health goal for Lead (90th pct, tap) is zero. There is no amount of it it considers safe to drink.
PFOA, PFBA, and PFBS were detected, forever chemicals that do not break down in the body or in the environment. EPA states the health effects: effects on cholesterol, the liver, the immune system, and thyroid; may increase the risk of certain cancers.
It serves Arcadia and Southeast Arcadia.
It uses Peace River (surface water) as its source.
Contaminants Detected
Not detected, or not looked for 91
PFAS · EPA UCMR5 monitoring
These were genuinely sampled, because EPA required it. Of 29 PFAS “forever chemicals” tested under the UCMR5 program, 6 were detected (shown above) and 23 were not:
Regulated contaminants · no result on record
Federally regulated contaminants with no reading on record for this system. A missing reading can mean the sample came back clean, or that nobody was required to take one. The published data does not say which, and smaller systems monitor many of these only once every few years:
What was found in the pipes
DeSoto County Utilities took 60 bacteria samples from its distribution system in 2023. One came back positive.
| Date sampled | Found |
|---|---|
| July 6, 2023 | total coliform |
From FDEP’s microbiological report, 2023. These are samples taken from the distribution system, the water in the pipes on the way to you, and not untreated source water. A positive sample is normally followed by repeat samples, and where those come back clean no violation is recorded, which is why findings like these do not appear in a compliance history.
How this system treats the water
FDEP records 3 treatment plants for this system, and they are not equipped the same. Only disinfection happens at all 3, and not always by the same method. A step recorded at some plants treats some of what this system produces, not all of it.
From FDEP’s treatment facility report, 2023. It lists what each plant is equipped to do, which is not the same as what any single process removes on a given day, and treatment happens before the water reaches your service line or your own plumbing. FDEP counts plants separately even where they stand on one site and run at the same time, and their output mixes in the distribution system. A count here says how many of this system’s plants include a step, not which homes receive it.
What happened when this system broke the rules
Measurements are only half the record. These are DeSoto County Utilities’s violations of the drinking-water rules as recorded by EPA, 2023, and what followed them.
The longest single violation ran 185 days before the system was recorded back in compliance.
A system in violation keeps operating, because cutting off a community’s water is not a remedy anyone wants. That is the point worth understanding: the enforcement record and the water are two different things, and only one of them appears in the annual report you are mailed. What that looks like statewide →
The Solution
Get your water tested
We measure what is actually coming out of your taps - hardness, iron, pH, TDS, PFAS, and whatever your own plumbing adds - the things a utility report can never show.
See your real results
We walk you through exactly what is there and what it affects: your skin, your pipes, your appliances, and the taste. Measured at your tap, not at the plant.
Get recommendations
Based on your results, we recommend the treatment that fits your water - a softener, reverse osmosis, or whole-home filtration - and nothing you do not need.
Data Sources
These figures describe the water your utility delivers, drawn from public federal and state records - not our own lab samples, and not what your home’s plumbing adds after the water arrives. Informational; not a substitute for testing your own tap.