What's in Baltimore County, MD tap water?
Baltimore County sits about 47 miles from our Arlington base and is served primarily by City of Baltimore, which provides water to roughly 1,600,000 people. It draws from the Piedmont reservoirs, rivers & wells. Piedmont and northern-Maryland communities draw from a mix of reservoirs, rivers (including the Susquehanna and Monocacy) and groundwater wells. Chlorination byproducts plus agricultural and industrial runoff drive most of the contaminants that exceed EWG's health guidelines.
Larger areas have more than one water system. Enter your exact zip code below for your utility's own EPA record and EWG report.
1 PFAS “forever chemical” found in Baltimore County, MD's water
The EPA's most recent national testing round detected PFAS in City Of Baltimore's supply. The EPA's 2024 legal limit for PFOA and PFOS is just 4 ppt, and its own health goal is zero, no level is considered safe.
Reverse osmosis is independently rated the most effective way to remove PFAS at the tap.
See the fixSource: EPA Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR5), highest detected result per compound for City Of Baltimore. Levels vary by sampling point and date. Learn more about PFAS.
Your tap water is legal. That doesn't make it clean.
Enter any U.S. zip code to see your water utility and the contaminants in its supply. For DC-metro utilities we show levels measured against the stricter EWG health guideline, not just the legal limit.
DC-metro levels from the EWG Tap Water Database & utility Consumer Confidence Reports; nationwide results from EPA SDWIS records. Utilities shown are in legal EPA compliance. “× over” compares the detected level to EWG's stricter health-based guideline, not the federal legal limit.
Getting cleaner water in Baltimore County
Your city treats the water for everyone; a reverse osmosis system handles the last few feet, at your own sink, where it matters. The Sanavia Hydra is NSF-certified to cut the piedmont reservoirs, rivers & wells contaminants above by up to 99%. Baltimore County is about 47 miles from our Arlington base, so it is inside our free in-home installation area, and every system ships nationwide with local installer help wherever you are.
Baltimore County water quality FAQ
Is Baltimore County, MD tap water safe to drink?
Public water in Baltimore County meets federal EPA legal limits. But "legal" is not the same as "clean": across the Piedmont reservoirs, rivers & wells, independent testing routinely finds contaminants like Total trihalomethanes (TTHMs) and Haloacetic acids (HAA5) above EWG's stricter health guidelines. Enter your zip code above to see your exact utility's record.
What contaminants are common in Baltimore County water?
For the Piedmont reservoirs, rivers & wells, the contaminants that most often exceed health guidelines are Total trihalomethanes (TTHMs), Haloacetic acids (HAA5), Nitrates (agricultural runoff), Hexavalent chromium (chromium-6), PFAS (forever chemicals). Your specific levels depend on your utility, which you can look up by zip code above.
Does Sanavia install reverse osmosis systems in Baltimore County?
Yes. Baltimore County is roughly 47 miles from our Arlington base and inside our service area. A Sanavia Hydra reverse osmosis system installs under your sink and is NSF-certified to reduce every contaminant class above, and we offer a free in-home water test.
Where does Baltimore County tap water come from?
Baltimore County's primary public water system is City of Baltimore, which serves roughly 1,600,000 people. It sits in the Piedmont reservoirs, rivers & wells, so its water shares that region's contaminant profile. Larger areas may have more than one utility, so enter your exact zip code above for your own system's EPA record.
Is well water in Baltimore County tested for these contaminants?
No. Private wells are not covered by municipal testing, so the responsibility falls on the homeowner. If your Baltimore County home is on a well, nitrate and naturally occurring contaminants are worth testing for specifically, and a reverse osmosis system reduces them at the tap. We offer a free in-home water test either way.
The contaminants behind the Piedmont reservoirs, rivers & wells
Each of these is a plain-English guide to a contaminant class common in Baltimore County and the surrounding Piedmont reservoirs, rivers & wells — what it is, the health context, and what actually removes it.
Detailed city water reports
For the largest DC-metro utilities we publish the full measured contaminant table.