Making water quality
data accessible
WaterVerge is an independent water quality information service. We turn complex EPA compliance data into simple letter grades so every American can understand what's in their tap water.
Everyone deserves to know what's in their water
The EPA publishes detailed water quality data for every public water system in the United States — violation records, lead testing, PFAS monitoring, and more. But this data is scattered across multiple databases, buried in technical reports, and nearly impossible for a regular person to interpret.
WaterVerge changes that. We aggregate all public EPA data, run it through a transparent scoring algorithm, and distill it into a simple letter grade for every city. No paywalls, no sponsored content, no government affiliation.
Official EPA data only
No self-reported utility data. Every grade is computed from publicly available EPA records — SDWIS, UCMR 5, and Lead and Copper Rule results.
Transparent methodology
Every city is scored on a clear 0–100 scale with four weighted subscores. Our algorithm is fully documented and reproducible.
PFAS included
We incorporate the latest UCMR 5 PFAS monitoring data — covering PFOA, PFOS, and 27 other forever chemicals tested from 2023–2025.
Updated quarterly
Grades refresh every quarter when EPA publishes new compliance data. Our most recent update was March 2026.
Built on public EPA records
Water system registrations, violation records, and enforcement actions for every public water system in the US.
90th percentile lead and copper testing results from routine sampling at consumer taps.
PFAS testing data from 2023–2025 covering 29 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances across US water systems.
Who writes and reviews WaterVerge
WaterVerge content is researched, written, and reviewed by the WaterVerge Editorial Team — a small group of writers and editors focused on environmental health and federal water-quality data. Every page is reviewed against EPA, CDC, and ATSDR sources before publication, and re-reviewed on a quarterly cadence as new data lands.
For details on how we research, source, and review every page, see our Editorial Policy. For how we handle errors and updates, see our Corrections Policy.
Check your city's water grade
Look up any US city to see its full score breakdown, contaminant data, and violation history.