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Albuquerque Water System water quality report, rewritten

Serves
560,326
Connections
206,795
Water source
Surface water
Based in
Albuquerque, NM
County
Bernalillo
Owner
Local government
The 20 ZIP codes it serves

87048, 87102, 87104, 87105, 87106, 87107, 87108, 87109, 87110, 87111, 87112, 87113, 87114, 87116, 87117, 87120, 87121, 87122, 87123, 87131

PWSID NM35107012026 edition · EPA data

Read this first

  • Lithium (above EPA’s health benchmark) was found in 52 of 52 samples, highest 71.4 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. EPA lists 1 monitoring or reporting violation, which are paperwork and testing lapses rather than water quality findings.

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.

71.4ppb

Highest of 52 samples; found in 52

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 Dec. 5, 2024 to June 4, 2025. Each blue tick is one sample where it was found.

Tested and not found

Below EPA’s minimum reporting level in every sample taken from June 5, 2024 to June 4, 2025. Not found means not measured above that level, which is not the same as zero.

All 30 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
  • PFBA
  • PFBS
  • PFDA
  • PFDoA
  • PFEESA
  • PFHpA
  • PFHpS
  • PFHxA
  • PFHxS
  • PFMBA
  • PFMPA
  • PFNA
  • PFOA
  • PFOS
  • PFPeA
  • PFPeS
  • PFTA
  • PFTrDA
  • PFUnA

Violations since 2016

No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016. There is 1 monitoring or reporting violation: a sample missed, late or not reported.

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 Albuquerque Water System’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 June 5, 2024 to June 4, 2025.

What to do next

  1. Read up on Lithium

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

    About Lithium

  2. Get the utility’s own report

    Albuquerque Water System 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. Decide if you want a filter at all

    A filter for taste or chlorine is a preference, not a need. The standards say what each kind can do.

    NSF/ANSI standards, decoded

Other New Mexico utilities

All New Mexico utilities

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