EPA UCMR 5: PFAS and Lithium Monitoring
- Source
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Update Cadence
- Multi-year monitoring cycle with periodic data releases
- Coverage
- Selected U.S. public water systems monitoring 29 PFAS and lithium
- Official URL
- View source
License and reuse
Consult EPA's copyright and reuse terms and the notices accompanying each dataset. Individual documents and third-party materials may have different conditions. Links to EPA data do not imply EPA endorsement.
EPA Copyright Status and Data Reuse TermsWhat It Measures
UCMR 5 collects drinking-water occurrence data for 29 PFAS compounds and lithium. Monitoring runs across a multi-year cycle and includes larger systems plus a representative sample of smaller systems.
How Local Health Signal Uses It
Local Health Signal treats UCMR 5 as a PFAS source layer, not a simple citywide verdict. When a city page mentions PFAS, it should point users toward official UCMR, utility, or state data rather than making broad claims without system-specific support.
What It Tells You
UCMR 5 is useful for checking whether specific public water systems reported PFAS or lithium results in the current monitoring cycle. It is especially helpful when utilities publish local explanations that interpret the same data for residents.
Limitations
- UCMR 5 is not universal address-level testing.
- Data releases can lag collection and may be revised.
- Results depend on whether the relevant public water system was included and what sampling points were monitored.
- A non-detect in a system report does not rule out every private well, building plumbing issue, or local environmental exposure concern.