Your Florida water quality report, formally called a Consumer Confidence Report (CCR), is a document your water utility is legally required to send you every year by July 1. It lists every regulated contaminant the utility tested for, the result in your specific water, and the federal Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) limit for comparison. Reading it correctly tells you what is and is not in your water, where your utility's levels sit relative to health limits, and which concerns (if any) are worth treating at home. Most Florida CCRs are one to four pages. They look technical but follow a standard EPA format. This guide walks through every section so you can understand your own report without a water treatment background, and use what you find to make a smart decision about home filtration or softening.
Call (407) 512-8342 or schedule a free in-home water test. On-site testing adds hardness, iron, and TDS data that your CCR does not include.
What is a Consumer Confidence Report and why does it matter?
The Consumer Confidence Report is a mandatory annual disclosure created by the 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act amendments. Every community water system in the United States that serves 25 or more people must publish a CCR every year and deliver it to customers by July 1. The report covers data collected the prior calendar year. Your 2026 CCR covers 2025 testing.
The CCR is the most authoritative source of data on what is in your tap water. Utilities spend millions of dollars testing and the results are publicly reported under penalty of federal law. Unlike water treatment marketing materials, the CCR numbers cannot be selectively chosen or overstated. If a regulated contaminant was detected, it appears in the table. If it was tested and not detected, it says so. If a contaminant was not required to be tested, it simply does not appear, which is a gap worth knowing about.
The CCR does not cover every chemical that might be in water. It covers the contaminants that the EPA has set federal Maximum Contaminant Levels for. Some contaminants of emerging concern (certain PFAS compounds, for example) were not covered by the CCR for many years because no MCL existed. The April 2024 EPA PFAS rule set the first MCLs for PFOA and PFOS, which means Florida utilities are now required to include PFAS data in future CCRs.
Where do I find my Florida water quality report?
There are three places to find your CCR. First, your utility mails or emails it to the address of service by July 1 each year. If you are a renter, landlords are required to pass the report along. Second, most Florida utilities post the current and prior year CCRs on their websites. Third, the EPA maintains the CCR database where you can look up any community water system in the country at epa.gov/ccr. Enter your zip code or utility name to find the report.
If you do not know which utility serves your address, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection maintains a searchable database of public water systems. Enter your address and the system name and PWSID (Public Water System Identification) number will display. The PWSID is what the EPA CCR database uses to look up the specific report for your system.
Private well owners do not have a CCR because there is no utility treating their water. The Florida Department of Health recommends that private well owners test annually for bacteria and nitrates at minimum, with a broader panel (iron, sulfur, hardness, arsenic, pH) every three to five years or whenever taste, color, or odor changes. See our Florida well water guide for the full testing and treatment sequence.
What do the numbers in a CCR actually mean?
The main table in a CCR lists detected contaminants in a standard format. Here is how to read it.
MCL (Maximum Contaminant Level): The federal legal limit set by the EPA. A concentration at or below the MCL is legally compliant. The MCL is based on a balancing of health risk against the technological and economic feasibility of treatment.
MCLG (Maximum Contaminant Level Goal): A non enforceable public health goal set by the EPA based on health data alone, without considering treatment feasibility or cost. Some MCLGs are zero (lead, arsenic) because no safe exposure level has been established, even though the MCL is higher because zero is not achievable in practice.
Detected level: Your utility's actual measurement. This column shows the highest result or the running annual average, depending on the contaminant.
Range: Some CCRs show the range of measurements across multiple testing locations (low to high). This tells you whether there is variation across the distribution system.
Units: Most contaminants are measured in milligrams per liter (mg/L), micrograms per liter (mcg/L or ppb), or parts per trillion (ppt) for very low concentrations. One mg/L equals 1 ppm (part per million). One mcg/L equals 1 ppb. Know which units the MCL and your result are both stated in before comparing them.
Which CCR contaminants should Florida homeowners watch most closely?
Total Trihalomethanes (TTHMs) and Haloacetic Acids (HAA5): These are disinfection by products formed when chlorine or chloramine reacts with organic matter in the source water. The EPA MCL for TTHMs is 80 ppb; for HAA5 it is 60 ppb. In Florida, the warm climate and Floridan Aquifer organic material load often push TTHM and HAA5 levels higher than in colder states, even at utilities running good treatment. A whole house catalytic carbon filter reduces TTHMs and HAA5s at the tap. If your CCR shows TTHM or HAA5 results near or above 40 to 50 percent of the MCL, a whole house carbon filter is worth considering.
Lead: The action level for lead is 15 ppb at the 90th percentile of sample sites. Most Florida homes built after 1986 use copper or PVC plumbing that does not contribute significant lead. Homes built before 1986 may have lead solder at pipe connections. If your CCR shows lead detections, a reverse osmosis system at the kitchen tap is the most effective point of use treatment.
Nitrates: The MCL is 10 mg/L as nitrogen. Nitrates above 10 mg/L are a serious concern for infants under six months. Private well owners in agricultural areas of Osceola, Polk, and Lake counties should test for nitrates annually. Reverse osmosis at the kitchen tap removes nitrates effectively.
PFAS (PFOA and PFOS): The April 2024 EPA rule set a 4 ppt MCL for PFOA and PFOS individually. Florida utilities are now testing and reporting. OUC, Toho Water Authority, and other Central Florida utilities are publishing baseline PFAS data. A reverse osmosis system removes PFAS to below detection limits at the kitchen tap. See our PFAS in Central Florida article for details on what the EPA rule means for Florida homeowners.
Hexavalent Chromium (Chromium-6): The federal MCL is for total chromium at 100 ppb. There is no separate federal MCL for chromium-6 specifically. California's public health goal for chromium-6 is 0.02 ppb, much lower than the federal total chromium MCL. When chromium-6 appears in a Florida CCR (it does in some systems including Haines City), compare it to both the federal total chromium MCL and to California's more conservative benchmark to understand the range of risk assessments. Reverse osmosis removes hexavalent chromium effectively.
How to read the hardness section of a Florida water quality report
Hardness is not a regulated contaminant under EPA primary standards because it does not present a health risk at drinking water concentrations. As a result, many CCRs do not include a hardness number, or they include it only in a secondary or informational section rather than the main compliance table.
If your CCR includes hardness, it is typically listed in milligrams per liter as calcium carbonate (mg/L as CaCO3) or in grains per gallon (gpg). Convert between them: 1 gpg equals 17.1 mg/L as CaCO3. The USGS classification is: soft (0 to 60 mg/L, or 0 to 3.5 gpg), moderately hard (61 to 120 mg/L, or 3.6 to 7 gpg), hard (121 to 180 mg/L, or 7.1 to 10.5 gpg), very hard (above 180 mg/L, or above 10.5 gpg).
If your CCR does not include a hardness number, a simple test strip from a hardware store gives you a ballpark in gpg. For accurate softener sizing, a professional on-site test with a calibrated kit is more reliable. Pure Agua brings a calibrated kit to your home and measures hardness in grains per gallon at no charge as part of the free water test.
What do TTHM or HAA5 mean in my water quality report?
Total Trihalomethanes (TTHMs) are a group of four compounds (chloroform, bromodichloromethane, dibromochloromethane, and bromoform) that form when chlorine or chloramine reacts with organic matter in source water. They are grouped and regulated together. The EPA MCL is 80 ppb as a running annual average at regulatory monitoring locations. TTHMs form in the distribution system after treatment, not at the plant, which is why they vary by neighborhood depending on distance from the treatment plant, water age, temperature, and organic matter load.
Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) are another class of disinfection by products with an MCL of 60 ppb. They form through a similar mechanism and are often reported alongside TTHMs.
Long term exposure to TTHMs and HAA5s above certain thresholds has been associated with increased cancer risk in epidemiological studies. The EPA MCLs are set to manage that risk. A whole house catalytic carbon filter removes TTHMs and HAA5s from the water entering your home from every fixture, including the hot water lines where by product concentration is highest.
How to use your CCR to choose the right home water treatment
Read the CCR to identify which contaminants are detected and at what level relative to the MCL. Then map each concern to the appropriate treatment technology:
Hard water: Ion exchange water softener for comprehensive hardness removal; TAC conditioning for scale prevention only. See our water softener vs conditioner comparison.
Chloramine or chlorine taste and odor; TTHM and HAA5 near or above 50 percent of MCL: Whole house catalytic carbon filter on the main service line. See our Central Florida hard water guide for the full stack.
PFAS detections; lead above 5 ppb; chromium-6; nitrates; arsenic; fluoride concern: Under sink reverse osmosis at the kitchen tap. NSF/ANSI 58 certified RO removes all of these contaminants effectively. See our RO guide.
Private well with bacteria, high iron, sulfur smell, low pH: Comprehensive well test first, then a treatment stack specific to your results. See our Florida well water guide.
Specific guides for local water quality: Haines City water quality guide, Ocoee water quality guide, Poinciana water quality guide, Kissimmee and Orlando water quality guide.
What is a Consumer Confidence Report?
A Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) is the annual water quality report that every community water utility in the United States is legally required to publish and deliver to customers by July 1 each year under the Safe Drinking Water Act. It lists every regulated contaminant the utility tested for, the measured level, and the federal Maximum Contaminant Level for comparison. You can also find CCRs at epa.gov/ccr by searching for your utility name or zip code.
Where can I find my Florida water quality report online?
Your utility's website is the first place to look, typically under a water quality or consumer information section. The EPA CCR database at epa.gov/ccr allows you to search by zip code or utility name. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection also maintains a public water system database at floridadep.gov where you can look up your utility's PWSID and then find the CCR through the EPA system.
Does the CCR report hardness?
Often, but not always. Hardness is not an EPA regulated contaminant, so utilities are not required to report it. Many Florida utilities include it as a secondary or informational item. If it is not in your CCR, a test strip gives a ballpark, and a calibrated professional on-site test gives the specific grains per gallon number you need to size a water softener correctly. Pure Agua provides free on-site hardness testing across Central Florida.
What does it mean if my CCR shows a contaminant detected above the MCLG but below the MCL?
It means the utility is in legal compliance (the MCL is the enforceable limit) but the detected level exceeds the non enforceable public health goal. This situation is common for contaminants like lead (MCLG of zero, MCL of 15 ppb action level) and chromium-6 (no separate MCL, but California health goal of 0.02 ppb is much lower than the total chromium MCL of 100 ppb). Home treatment (typically reverse osmosis at the kitchen tap) can reduce these contaminants to below MCLG levels.
Call (407) 512-8342 or schedule your free in-home water test. We bring a calibrated kit and test for hardness, iron, pH, and TDS at your address, adding the data your CCR may not include. Same-week appointments available across Central Florida.
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