Head-to-head water quality

Atlanta, GA vs Fort Worth, TX

Side-by-side water quality comparison: Atlanta (Grade F) vs Fort Worth (Grade F). Lead, PFAS, violations, and source-water contamination

Score breakdown

Each factor is shown as raw points (out of the maximum). Higher = better.

Factor

Atlanta

Fort Worth

Better

Violations subscore / 45

0.0

Tie

Lead/Copper subscore / 20

16.0

18.0

Fort Worth

Contaminant subscore / 20

12.2

7.5

Atlanta

Compliance subscore / 10

5.0

Tie

Source subscore / 5

4.0

Tie

Lead & copper at the tap

Lead and Copper Rule (LCR) 90th-percentile readings — the value that 10% of sampled homes exceed.

Factor

Atlanta

Fort Worth

Better

Lead 90th-percentile (latest) · EPA action level: 15 µg/L

0.0 µg/L

Atlanta

Copper 90th-percentile (latest) · EPA action level: 1.3 mg/L

2.7 mg/L

—

Atlanta

PFAS — "forever chemicals"

UCMR 5 testing, 2023–2025. Federal MCLs: PFOA + PFOS = 4 ng/L; HFPO-DA = 10 ng/L.

Factor

Atlanta

Fort Worth

Better

PFAS analytes detected

4 of 30

8 of 30

Atlanta

PFAS exceeds federal MCL

Yes

Atlanta

PFAS hazard index · Sum of (max/MCL) across detected analytes; > 1 indicates exceedance

—

3.90

Fort Worth

Violation history

SDWA enforcement actions — fewer is better.

Factor

Atlanta

Fort Worth

Better

Violations (last 5 years)

144

Atlanta

Health-based violations (total)

Atlanta

Unresolved violations

221

Atlanta

Other contaminants tested

UCMR rounds 1–4 + UCMR 5 lithium. Maxima where data exists; "—" means not tested.

Factor

Atlanta

Fort Worth

Better

Chromium-6 (max)

0.21 µg/L

0.14 µg/L

Fort Worth

HAA5 (avg)

48.74 µg/L

5.56 µg/L

Fort Worth

Manganese (max)

1.96 µg/L

4.19 µg/L

Atlanta

Strontium (max)

36.00 µg/L

330.00 µg/L

Atlanta

NDMA (max)

—

6.00 ng/L

Fort Worth

Vanadium (max)

0.44 µg/L

1.60 µg/L

Atlanta

Chlorate (max)

360.00 µg/L

720.00 µg/L

Atlanta

Molybdenum (max)

—

2.50 µg/L

Fort Worth

Industrial proximity

Superfund National Priorities List + Toxic Release Inventory facilities within 10 miles of the city centroid.

Factor

Atlanta

Fort Worth

Better

Superfund sites within 10 mi

Tie

TRI lbs to surface water within 10 mi (2023)

100

1,369

Atlanta

System size & source

Factor

Atlanta

Fort Worth

Population served

1.1M

964K

—

Water source

Surface water

—

Number of water systems

—

See the full reports

Full report

Atlanta, GA water quality

Grade F · 1.1M served

Full report

Fort Worth, TX water quality

Grade F · 964K served

All cities in Georgia → All cities in Texas →

Frequently asked

Which has better water — Atlanta or Fort Worth?

Atlanta, GA scores higher (37.2 vs 34.5) on WaterVerge's 100-point methodology, earning a Grade F compared to Fort Worth's Grade F. The score combines violation history, lead and copper levels, contaminant testing, monitoring compliance, and source-water type.

How is the WaterVerge water quality score calculated?

The grade combines five subscores: violation history (45 pts, weighted by recency and health-based severity), lead/copper 90th-percentile vs EPA action levels (20 pts), contaminant testing including PFAS, chromium-6, HAA5, NDMA, perchlorate, and Superfund/TRI proximity (20 pts), monitoring compliance (10 pts), and water-source-type risk (5 pts). Full methodology at /about/methodology.

Where does this water quality data come from?

From the EPA's public records: the SDWIS bulk download (violations + system info), UCMR rounds 1–5 (unregulated contaminant testing including PFAS, chromium-6, HAA5, NDMA, perchlorate, vanadium, lithium), the EPA Toxic Release Inventory (industrial polluters), the Superfund National Priorities List, the USGS Powell Domestic-Well Database (private-well chemistry), and the CDC Community Water Fluoridation system. Data is refreshed quarterly.