Table of Drinking Water Contaminant Levels - Maximum Contamination Allowed in Water
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Allowable limits of water contaminants in drinking water
What are the action levels for different contaminants found in drinking water?
New York State example of maximum level of water contaminants allowed
Questions & answers about allowable levels of contaminants in drinking water
Limits of allowable levels of water contaminants: when testing drinking water the contaminant limits
listed here assist in deciding when water purification or other water treatment is needed.
This table provides the allowable limits of various contaminants found in drinking water.
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While the table of water contamination ingredients and allowable levels is from New York State, these limits
or similar numbers will apply in most jurisdictions. Water contamination limits and testing requirements in the U.S. are regulated by the
Federal Clean Drinking Water act.
Subpart 5-1 of the New York State Sanitary Code defines "Maximum Water Contaminant Level' as the permissible level of a
contaminant in water which is delivered to any user of a public water system. New York State does not regulate private
drinking water supplies (single family homes on well water).
Most lenders require at least a confirmation of "potable"
water meaning that bacteria count and coliform bacteria count is less than 1 CFU per 100 ml. of drinking water
in the water test sample. Some lenders require water passing the FHA
"Short" or FHA "Long" test list items. Readers of This article should also see
Drinking Water Supply, Contamination Levels, Water Testing Procedures.
Analyte
MCL(a)
Unit
Arsenic
0.05
mg/L
Barium
2.00
mg/L
Cadmium
0.005
mg/L
Chloride
250.0
mg/L
Chromium
0.10
mg/L
Color
15
Pt Co units(d)
Copper
Action Level=1.3(g)
mg/L
Fluoride
2.2
mg/L
Iron
0.3(b)
mg/L
Lead
Action Level=0.015(g)(h)
mg/L
Manganese
0.3 (b)
mg/L
Mercury
0.002
mg/L
Nitrate-nitrogen
10 (f)(h)
mg/L
Nitrite-nitrogen
1 (f)(h)
mg/L
Odor
3
TON (e)
Selenium
0.01
mg/L
Silver
0.05
mg/L
Sodium
designated limits (c)
mg/L
Sulfate
250.0
mg/L
Zinc
5.0
mg/L
Coliform Bacteria
<1 (h)
Colony /100 ml
Total Bacteria
<1 (h)
Colony /100 ml
Notes about drinking water contaminant acceptable levels
(a) mg/L = milligrams per liter
(b) If iron and manganese are present, the total concentration of both should not exceed 0.5 mg/L.
(d) Color test result expressed as Platinum Cobalt Color Units
(e) Odor test result expressed as Threshold Odor Number
(f) If nitrate and nitrite are present, the total concentration of both should not exceed 10 mg/L.
(g) "Action level" is the concentration of lead or copper (in a sample of water drawn from a tap normally used for drinking after a 6-hour period of no water use) that, when exceeded, triggers actions to be taken by a water system.
(h) FHA "Short List" items
(i) FHA "Long List" items - (indications to be added after lab review)
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