Know what's in your water.
Plain-English guides to the contaminants most common in DC-metro tap water: what they are, the health context, and what actually removes them.
PFAS “Forever Chemicals”
PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a family of thousands of synthetic chemicals used in nonstick cookware, waterproof fabrics, food packaging, and firefighting foam. They earn the nickname “forever chemicals” because their fluorine-carbon bonds barely break down, so they persist in the environment and accumulate in the human body.
Read the guide →Lead
Lead is a potent neurotoxin with no known safe level of exposure, especially for infants and children. In drinking water it typically doesn't come from the source water itself. It leaches from aging infrastructure: lead service lines, older plumbing, solder, and fixtures on the way to your tap.
Read the guide →Chloramines & Disinfection Byproducts
To stop waterborne disease, utilities disinfect drinking water with chlorine or chloramine (chlorine combined with ammonia). This is essential and saves lives, but there's a tradeoff: the disinfectant reacts with natural organic matter in the water to form disinfection byproducts (DBPs), most notably total trihalomethanes (TTHMs) and haloacetic acids (HAA5).
Read the guide →Nitrate & Nitrite
Nitrate and nitrite are compounds that enter drinking water mainly through agricultural fertilizer runoff, septic systems, and wastewater discharge. They're more common in agricultural areas and in homes on private wells, but they can appear in municipal supplies too.
Read the guide →See what's in your area
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