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Is Arecibo, PR tap water safe?

6 utilities serve Arecibo, by EPA’s records. Here is what EPA’s records show for each, against the legal limits and the stricter health goals.

Matched to your utility using EPA records.

The short answer

2 of the 6 utilities serving Arecibo have a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s records: Arecibo Urbano and Sabana Hoyos.

Arecibo Urbano, which serves the most people here, has 1 result above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029 and 1 result above the health goal. The worst: PFOS at 4.4 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029.

A town can be served by more than one utility, and some homes are on private wells. The name on your water bill tells you which is yours, and your ZIP code narrows it down.

What handles it

Each of these is certified, on a certifier’s listing, for a result above a line in Arecibo Urbano’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.

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Every claim, and more filters, in the full report

Water testing near Arecibo

A utility tests the water it sends out. A test of your own tap shows what your pipes add, and on a private well it is the only test there is. It takes a lab Puerto Rico certifies.

The 3 labs Puerto Rico certifies closest to Arecibo, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

All 12 certified labs for Puerto Rico

ZIP codes in Arecibo

Which ZIP codes are in Arecibo: Census 2020 relationship files. Which utilities serve them, and how many people: EPA SDWIS and EPA’s service area map. Each utility’s results: EPA UCMR 5, EPA SDWIS, and EPA’s and the state’s compliance monitoring, as its report lists them. How they are measured: methodology. Certified labs: Departamento de Salud, laboratorios y parámetros certificados (agua potable); distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer.

Near Arecibo

Towns nearby with a page of their own.

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