To find out whether PFAS have been detected in your drinking water, check your water provider’s latest Consumer Confidence Report (CCR), search the system in EPA’s UCMR 5 Data Finder, and ask the utility for details. If you use a private well or want a result for your own tap, arrange testing through a state-certified drinking-water laboratory that uses EPA-developed methods. A blank record is not proof that your water contains zero PFAS.
How do I know if there are PFAS in my public water?
- Identify your water provider. Check a water bill or ask your landlord or local public works department if you are unsure which system serves your address.
- Find the latest CCR. Your supplier may post it online or provide it on request. EPA describes the CCR as the annual drinking-water quality report; you can also use its CCR information and finder. Search for terms such as PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, PFNA, and GenX/HFPO-DA. CCRs may not display monitoring results in a uniform format.
- Search EPA’s UCMR 5 Data Finder. Use the system name or other available filters, including state and contaminant, to look for monitoring results. The final dataset was released in August 2026. EPA’s UCMR 5 program page describes the monitoring and data.
- Ask the utility for specifics. If a report or search result is missing, unclear, old, or silent about a compound, contact the utility. EPA advises concerned customers to ask what contaminants may be present, whether PFAS are being monitored, what levels were found, and whether action is being taken. EPA’s PFAS drinking-water FAQ provides this guidance.
You can ask: “Which PFAS did you test for? What were the results and units? What were the reporting limits? Are more tests planned, and what actions are being taken?”
What does a missing UCMR 5 result mean?
It means you have not found a result in that dataset—not that PFAS are absent from your water. UCMR 5 monitored 29 PFAS and lithium from 2023 through 2025. Monitoring covered qualifying public water systems serving 3,300 or more people and a representative subset of smaller systems; it was not a test of every household tap. EPA says community water systems must notify customers of UCMR results within 12 months after the system knows them. These system-level monitoring results do not establish the current condition of every home’s tap.
A result below a laboratory’s reporting limit also does not prove absolute absence. It means the lab did not report a concentration at or above that limit using the applicable method. EPA says UCMR 5 minimum reporting levels reflect laboratory capability, not health-based thresholds.
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How do I test my well water or a specific household tap for PFAS?
- Contact your state environmental or health agency and ask for PFAS testing guidance and a list of certified drinking-water laboratories. EPA also advises private-well owners that they may contact a certified lab directly. See EPA’s private-well guidance.
- Verify the lab and method. Confirm that the lab is state-certified for drinking-water analysis and uses EPA-developed PFAS testing methods. EPA’s PFAS drinking-water FAQ recommends a state-certified laboratory if you choose to test your water.
- Ask what the test includes. Find out which PFAS compounds are in the panel, the reporting limits, whether the lab supplies the sample container, and its instructions for collection, preservation, shipping, and timing. Ask how to avoid contaminating the sample.
- Follow the lab’s instructions exactly. Do not substitute an unverified home strip for laboratory analysis. Keep the report and record the sample location and date.
- Get help interpreting a detection. Ask the lab and your state or local health agency how to interpret the listed compounds and concentrations, and consult current EPA or state standards and guidance.
A utility’s system result and a laboratory sample from your household tap answer different questions. If you buy a sample-and-analysis kit, check that the laboratory actually analyzing the sample meets the same certification and method requirements; a kit label alone does not establish that.
How should I read a PFAS water test result?
Check the result for the exact compound tested, its concentration and units, the reporting limit, the method, the sample location, and the date. Without those details, a number or a general label such as “passed” may not tell you what was measured or whether it represents your own tap.
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- TESTS FOR: 18 PFAS compounds including PFOS (Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid), PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid), Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid, Perfluoroheptanoic acid, Perfluorononanoic acid, Perfluorobutanesulfonic acid, Perfluoroundecanoic acid, Perfluorododecanoic acid, Perfluorodecanoic acid, Perfluorohexanoic acid, NEtFOSAA, NMeFOSAA, Perfluorotetradecanoic acid, Perfluorotridecanoic acid, GenX, 11-Chloroeicosafluoro-3-oxaundecane-1-sulfonic acid, 9-Chlorohexadecafluoro-3-oxanonane-1-sulfonic acid, and 4,8-Dioxa-3H-perfluorononanoic acid
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Keep three kinds of information separate: public-system monitoring results, a utility’s compliance status under an applicable rule, and a test of water from a particular home’s tap or well. They are related but not interchangeable, and an older system result is not a personal health assessment.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Should I use a filter if PFAS are found?
Testing and treatment are separate decisions: a filter does not tell you what was in the water before treatment. If results lead you to explore treatment, EPA’s private-well fact sheet says to consider an in-home water treatment system or filtered pitcher certified to lower PFAS. However, EPA noted that, as of April 2024, filter certification standards did not indicate that a certified filter would remove PFAS down to the levels EPA had set for a drinking-water standard. Check current certifications and compound-specific performance claims before choosing a product; a generic “PFAS removal” label does not establish performance for every compound or level.
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