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Polk Correctional Institution

What EPA’s and Florida’s records show in this utility’s water: nitrate, arsenic and other regulated chemicals; lead and copper; and violations since 2016, with the certification that handles each result.

Serves
1,500 people
Connections
84
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Polk City, FL
County
Polk
Owner
State government
The ZIP code it serves

33868

The short answer

3 results are above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic, above the health goal. No health-based violations on file since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2008 to 2024.

Arsenic, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride and chromium (total): Florida’s own results, samples taken from June 16, 2020 to Dec. 24, 2024, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Uranium: EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from May 22, 2018 to May 22, 2018. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.

Above the health goal3

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

1.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2021 to 2024

2024, one sample: 1.8 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.8 ppb, in 2021: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. In 2024, the latest year on file, its one sample was 1.8 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 2.9 ppb, in 2012.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”

Uranium

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

2.6ppb

Highest yearly average, 2018

Averaged by year, the highest was 2.6 ppb, in 2018: below EPA’s legal limit of 30 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. That is the only year on file.

What handles it

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

0.2ppb

90th percentile, 2024

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 0.2 ppb, below EPA’s action level of 15 ppb. The action level drops to 10 ppb on Nov. 1, 2027. EPA’s health goal for lead is zero.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits4

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

19.1ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2024

2024, one sample: 5.8 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 19.1 ppb, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2024, the latest year on file, its one sample was 5.8 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 7.8 ppb, in 2016.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

1.9ppm

Highest sample; found in 5 of 5

2024 average: 1.6 ppm

The highest sample, in 2020, was 1.9 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2024, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 1.6 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 1.8 ppm, in 2017.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

10.2ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2024

2024: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 10.2 ppb, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2024, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 26.2 ppb, in 2012.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.12ppm

Highest yearly average, 2021 to 2024

2024 average: 0.11 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.12 ppm, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2024, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 0.11 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.24 ppm, in 2015.

What handles it

One compound tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Chromium (total)

What handles it

A certification covers specific claims, not a whole standard. Look for these claims on the certifier’s listing, not the box. Wording varies a little: NSF writes “Lead Reduction,” WQA just “Lead.”

  • NSF/ANSI 53

    Claims: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: Arsenic, Lead

    Other certifiers’ wording: Arsenic (III) (50 ppb influent level)

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction, Uranium, Lead Reduction

    For: Arsenic, Uranium, Lead

    Other certifiers’ wording: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=300 ppb Reduction; Arsenic (V) (300 ppb influent level)

At the tap, or for the whole house?

Lead and copper usually come from pipes and fixtures inside or near your home. A whole-house system sits where water enters, so it cannot catch what your own plumbing adds after it. For those, the filter that counts is the one at the tap. How whole-house systems compare.

Filters with those claims on a certifier’s listing

Disclosure: TapBuff earns a commission if you buy through some links on this page. It does not change which standard or filter we name. As an Amazon Associate, TapBuff earns from qualifying purchases. How TapBuff makes money

Compare five-year costs

The best reverse osmosis systems, ranked

The best water filters for lead, ranked

Violations since 2016

No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016. There are 22 monitoring or reporting violations: a sample missed, late or not reported.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Arsenic, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride and chromium (total) results here are Florida’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Uranium comes from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Polk Correctional Institution’s own annual report, which it must send you every year, has newer results for those and the contaminants this page does not show.

  • Your own plumbing. Lead results are the 90th percentile across homes the utility samples. Your home’s service line, solder and fixtures decide yours. A certified lab test is the only way to know.

  • What it means for your health. This page reports what the records show and EPA’s limits and goals; it is not medical advice. If you are worried about a health effect, talk to a doctor or your local health department.

  • Anything after the latest data. SDWIS data is from 2026 Q3; UCMR 5 didn’t sample this utility; Florida’s results run from June 16, 2020 to Dec. 24, 2024; EPA’s compliance samples are from May 22, 2018 to May 22, 2018.

Testing your own tap

Polk Correctional Institution’s results are for the water it sends out. What your own service line, solder and fixtures add shows up only in a test of your tap, by a lab Florida certifies.

The 3 labs Florida certifies closest to the area Polk Correctional Institution serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Central Florida Tourism Oversight District Environmental Sciences

    Lake Buena Vista, FL · about 18 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (407) 824-7301

  • Benchmark Mid Florida Laboratory

    Winter Haven, FL · about 18 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (863) 656-2020

  • SGS North America, Inc. - Orlando

    Orlando, FL · about 30 miles

    Certified for PFAS

    (407) 425-6700

Florida Department of Health Bureau of Public Health Laboratories: Coliform and E. coli testing for private wells at the Jacksonville and Miami labs. Collection kits come from your county health department, and the sample has to reach the lab on ice the same day it is collected. $40 for private testing through the state lab. Well Water Testing, Florida Department of Health.

All 212 certified labs for Florida

Sources

PWSID FL6531426. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Polk County

All Florida utilities

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