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Harlingen Water Works System water quality report, rewritten

Serves
85,900
Connections
37,154
Water source
Surface water
Based in
Harlingen, TX
County
Cameron
Owner
Local government
The 2 ZIP codes it serves

78550, 78552

PWSID TX0310002 · EPA data

Read this first

  • Lithium (above EPA’s health benchmark) was found in eight of 8 samples, highest 46.9 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.

PFAS and lithium: EPA UCMR 5, samples taken from Aug. 14, 2023 to June 26, 2024. Each blue tick on a scale is one sample where it was found.

46.9ppb

Highest of 8 samples; found in eight

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.

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
PFBA8.8 ppt5 of 8None covers it
PFPeA3.0 ppt1 of 8None covers it
PFHxA3.0 ppt1 of 8None covers it

Tested and not found

Below EPA’s minimum reporting level in every sample taken from Aug. 14, 2023 to June 26, 2024. Not found means not measured above that level, which is not the same as zero.

All 27 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
  • PFBS
  • PFDA
  • PFDoA
  • PFEESA
  • PFHpA
  • PFHpS
  • PFHxS
  • PFMBA
  • PFMPA
  • PFNA
  • PFOA
  • PFOS
  • 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 Harlingen Water Works 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 Aug. 14, 2023 to June 26, 2024.

Other Texas utilities

All Texas utilities

Sources

What to do next

  • Read up on Lithium

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

    About Lithium

  • Get the utility’s own report

    Harlingen Water Works System must send you a water quality report every year. It lists nitrate, arsenic and byproduct levels this page cannot.

    How to read it

  • 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

  • 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