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Truckee Meadows Water Authority water quality report, rewritten

Serves
442,000
Connections
120,047
Water source
Surface water
Based in
Reno, NV
County
Washoe
Owner
Local government
The 19 ZIP codes it serves

89431, 89433, 89434, 89436, 89439, 89441, 89501, 89502, 89503, 89506, 89508, 89509, 89511, 89512, 89519, 89521, 89523, 89557, 89595

PWSID NV00001902026 edition · EPA data

Read this first

  • PFOS (above the health goal) was found in six of 142 samples, highest 20 ppt. Above the 4.0 ppt legal limit in at least one sample. Compliance is judged on a running annual average, not one sample.
  • PFHxS (above the health goal) was found in 18 of 142 samples, highest 15 ppt. Above the 10 ppt legal limit in at least one sample. Compliance is judged on a running annual average, not one sample.
  • PFOA (above the health goal) was found in three of 142 samples, highest 5.5 ppt. Above the 4.0 ppt legal limit in at least one sample. Compliance is judged on a running annual average, not one sample.
  • Lithium (above EPA’s health benchmark) was found in 15 of 142 samples, highest 100 ppb. Above EPA’s health reference level of 10 ppb, a screening level rather than an enforceable limit.

No health-based violations on file since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Highlighted: above the health goal, or EPA’s health benchmark where there is no goal. Circled: above the legal limit in at least one sample, or the action level. Every scale puts that line at its middle.

PFOS (above the health goal)

Comes from the source

20 (above the legal limit in at least one sample)ppt

Highest of 142 samples; found in six

Above the 4.0 ppt legal limit in at least one sample. Compliance is judged on a running annual average, not one sample.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 53Look for: PFOS ReductionSame claim, other certifiers’ wording: Total PFAS Reduction; Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS)
  • NSF/ANSI 58Look for: Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS)

NSF’s PFAS claims are tested to below 20 ppt. EPA’s limit is 4.0 ppt, and EPA says no certification yet shows a filter reaching its levels.

EPA UCMR 5, samples taken from May 9, 2023 to Aug. 13, 2025. Each blue tick is one sample where it was found.

PFHxS (above the health goal)

Comes from the source

15 (above the legal limit in at least one sample)ppt

Highest of 142 samples; found in 18

Above the 10 ppt legal limit in at least one sample. Compliance is judged on a running annual average, not one sample.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 53Look for: Total PFAS ReductionSame claim, other certifiers’ wording: Perfluorohexane Sulfonic Acid (PFHxS)

NSF’s PFAS claims are tested to below 20 ppt. EPA’s limit is 10 ppt, and EPA says no certification yet shows a filter reaching its levels.

EPA UCMR 5, samples taken from Jan. 17, 2023 to Aug. 13, 2025. Each blue tick is one sample where it was found.

PFOA (above the health goal)

Comes from the source

5.5 (above the legal limit in at least one sample)ppt

Highest of 142 samples; found in three

Above the 4.0 ppt legal limit in at least one sample. Compliance is judged on a running annual average, not one sample.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 53Look for: PFOA ReductionSame claim, other certifiers’ wording: Total PFAS Reduction; Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA)
  • NSF/ANSI 58Look for: Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA)

NSF’s PFAS claims are tested to below 20 ppt. EPA’s limit is 4.0 ppt, and EPA says no certification yet shows a filter reaching its levels.

EPA UCMR 5, samples taken from Jan. 24, 2023 to July 18, 2023. Each blue tick is one sample where it was found.

100ppb

Highest of 142 samples; found in 15

Above EPA’s health reference level of 10 ppb, a screening level rather than an enforceable limit.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

EPA UCMR 5, samples taken from Jan. 17, 2023 to Sept. 2, 2025. Each blue tick is one sample where it was found.

PFBS

Comes from the source

5.7ppt

Highest of 142 samples; found in nine

Below EPA’s hazard index benchmark of 2,000 ppt. PFBS has no legal limit or health goal of its own.

What handles it

EPA UCMR 5, samples taken from Jan. 24, 2023 to Aug. 13, 2025. Each blue tick is one sample where it was found.

Also found, with no federal limit

EPA measured these PFAS to learn how often they occur. None has a legal limit or a health goal yet.

CompoundHighest sampleFound inCertification claim
PFPeA13 ppt6 of 142None covers it
PFHxA12 ppt7 of 142None covers it
PFBA6.8 ppt1 of 142None covers it
PFHpA3.9 ppt1 of 142NSF/ANSI 53: Total PFAS Reduction

Tested and not found

Below EPA’s minimum reporting level in every sample taken from Jan. 11, 2023 to Sept. 2, 2025. Not found means not measured above that level, which is not the same as zero.

All 22 compounds tested and not found
  • 11Cl-PF3OUdS
  • 4:2 FTS
  • 6:2 FTS
  • 8:2 FTS
  • 9Cl-PF3ONS
  • ADONA
  • HFPO-DA (GenX)
  • Lead
  • NEtFOSAA
  • NFDHA
  • NMeFOSAA
  • PFDA
  • PFDoA
  • PFEESA
  • PFHpS
  • PFMBA
  • PFMPA
  • PFNA
  • PFPeS
  • PFTA
  • PFTrDA
  • PFUnA

Violations since 2016

No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016.

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: PFOS Reduction, Total PFAS Reduction, PFOA Reduction

    For: PFOS, PFHxS, PFOA

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS), Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA)

    For: PFOS, PFOA

At the tap, or for the whole house?

These come with the water itself, so a whole-house system certified for the same claims treats every tap and shower. A filter at the tap treats drinking water for much less. How whole-house systems compare.

Compare five-year costs

Filters with those claims on a certifier’s listing

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

What this report cannot tell you

  • Levels of everything else. Federal bulk data carries results for PFAS, lithium, lead and copper, and violations for the rest. Nitrate, arsenic, disinfection byproducts and other levels are in Truckee Meadows Water Authority’s own annual report, which it must send you every year.
  • 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.
  • Anything after the latest data. SDWIS data is from 2026 Q2; UCMR 5 samples are from Jan. 11, 2023 to Sept. 2, 2025.

What to do next

  1. Read up on the 4 marked results

    What each one does to health, where it comes from, and the certification claim that addresses it.

    Start with PFOS

  2. Get the utility’s own report

    Truckee Meadows Water Authority must send you a water quality report every year. It lists nitrate, arsenic and byproduct levels this page cannot.

    How to read it

  3. Test your own tap for lead

    Your service line, solder and fixtures decide the lead at your faucet, not the utility’s average.

    Lead in your water: what to do

  4. Compare certified filters

    What the filters certified for these results cost over five years, cartridges included.

    Compare five-year costs

Other Nevada utilities

All Nevada utilities

Sources