How to Read Your Water Quality Report (CCR)

How to read your water utility's annual quality report (CCR)

Once a year, your water utility publishes a report card on your tap water — it's called a Consumer Confidence Report, and almost nobody reads it. That's a shame, because it's free, it's honest, and with ten minutes of translation it tells you most of what you'd want to know.

What a CCR is

Every community water system in America must publish a Consumer Confidence Report each year — it's federal law. The report lists what was tested, what was found, and how the results compare to the legal limits. It is the single most underused free document in home ownership.

Step 1: Find yours

Search your utility's name plus "water quality report" — for example, "Pennsylvania American Water CCR" or "Lehigh County Authority water quality report." Reports for the previous year must be out by July 1. EPA keeps a national lookup at epa.gov/ccr.

Step 2: Learn the five words that matter

MCL (Maximum Contaminant Level): the legal limit — the speed limit for that substance.
MCLG (the G is "Goal"): the level below which there is no known risk. Often lower than the MCL, sometimes zero. A goal, not a law.
ppm / ppb / ppt: parts per million, billion, and trillion. One ppb is roughly half a teaspoon dissolved in an Olympic swimming pool; one ppt (the unit PFAS limits use) is a thousand times smaller still — about one drop spread across twenty Olympic pools. Modern testing is that sensitive, which is why "detected" and "dangerous" are very different words.
Range & Average: most reports show both. The average is your everyday water; the range shows the worst single sample.
Violation: the word that actually matters. If a limit was exceeded, the report must say so, in plain sight, with what the utility is doing about it.

Step 3: Read these lines first

Lead and copper. Utilities test a sample of high-risk homes. Look at the "90th percentile" value against the action level. Remember the honest caveat: lead comes from each house's own plumbing, so this line describes the sampled homes — not necessarily yours.
Disinfection byproducts (TTHM and HAA5). Formed when chlorine reacts with organic matter. Regulated because long-term exposure at high levels matters. Older, longer distribution systems — common in NEPA — tend to run closer to the limits than new ones.
PFAS. Newer reports include PFOA/PFOS results under Pennsylvania's limits and the 2024 federal rule. If the numbers are confusing, the rule of thumb: look for "violation" language, and see PFAS explained simply.
Turbidity and coliform. These measure how well treatment and the pipes are working day to day.

Step 4: Know what the CCR cannot tell you

The report describes water leaving the plant and moving through the mains. It cannot see your service line, your solder joints, your water heater, or your fixtures. Three questions stay open after even a perfect CCR:

Is my own plumbing adding lead? (House age question — test once and know.)
How hard is my water, exactly? (Utilities deliver it hard in limestone country; softening is your call.)
What do I want to do about chlorine taste? (Comfort choice, not a safety one.)

The honest bottom line

If your CCR shows no violations, your utility is doing its job — that is genuinely reassuring and worth knowing. What remains is the part no utility can see: the last fifty feet of pipe, and your own preferences about taste, hardness, and filtration. That part is measurable too, at your kitchen tap, for free.

Frequently asked questions

Where do I find my water quality report?

Search your utility’s name plus "CCR" or "water quality report" — utilities must publish one by July 1 each year, covering the previous year. Many mail or email a link with a bill. EPA also keeps a lookup at epa.gov/ccr. If you rent, you may need to search by the utility, not your landlord.

What does MCL mean on a water report?

MCL is the Maximum Contaminant Level — the highest amount of a substance legally allowed in drinking water. Think of it as the speed limit. Next to it you’ll see your water’s actual measured level. What you want: the measured level comfortably below the MCL. A violation must be flagged in the report by law.

My report shows contaminants detected — should I worry?

Detection is not danger. Modern labs detect substances at levels thousands of times below any health concern, so nearly every report lists detections. The question is never "was something found?" — it is "was anything found above its MCL?" If yes, the report must say so plainly and explain what the utility is doing.

Does the CCR cover lead in my house?

Only partially. Utilities test a sample of homes for lead, and the report shows those results — but lead enters water from each home’s own service line and solder, so your neighbor’s result is not your result. If your home predates 1986, a test at your own kitchen tap is the only real answer.