Arsenic
Detected: 2.06 ppb
516×
EWG health guideline
What's in your water?
Select your city to see what's commonly detected in your local water, how levels compare with published standards and health guidelines, and which treatment options may help.
City snapshot
Houston
Utility represented: City of Houston
EWG data period: 2013–2024
Utility
City of Houston
Water source
Surface water
Above EWG guidelines
14
Total detected
51
An EWG health guideline is a health-based benchmark, not an EPA legal limit. Public drinking water can meet federal standards while exceeding other health-based guidelines.
Notable verified findings
Bromodichloromethane
Detected: 6.19 ppb
103×
EWG health guideline
Nitrate
Detected: 0.155 ppm
Approximately 1.1×
EWG health guideline
How to read a water report
Regulatory limits
The EPA sets legal limits (like MCLs) that public water systems must meet. When we show one, it's always labeled as a legal limit.
Health guidelines
Some organizations publish stricter, non-regulatory health guidelines. They're useful context — but they are not legal limits, and we never present them as such.
Context, not fear
City data describes the public water supply — not your exact faucet. We show results within standards alongside the ones worth a conversation. Informative, not frightening.