Chromium-6 Contamination

Chromium-6 in Florida Drinking Water

Ranked by max chromium-6 detected (µg/L) · UCMR 3 data (2013–2015) · Data from EPA SDWIS & UCMR

162

Cities Tested

162

Detected

100%

% Detected

0.32 µg/L

State Avg

▼ 0% vs national

vs National

321

Health Violations

Analysis

Chromium-6 in Florida: what the data shows

Florida has 162 cities with chromium-6 data from the EPA's UCMR 3 program (2013–2015). Hexavalent chromium (Cr VI) was detected in 162 of those cities. There is currently no federal MCL for chromium-6 — California's 10 µg/L limit is used as a reference. The state average max detected level is 0.32 µg/L. Chromium-6 occurs naturally in some groundwater aquifers but also from industrial discharge, particularly from steel processing, chrome plating, and leather tanning. It is distinct from trivalent chromium (Cr III), which is an essential nutrient at low doses. The National Toxicology Program and IARC classify chromium-6 as a carcinogen via inhalation; the evidence for drinking water carcinogenicity is strong but regulatory action at the federal level remains pending as of 2026. Reverse osmosis systems effectively remove chromium-6 to near-undetectable levels.

Comparison

Cities exceeding No federal MCL (CA: 10 µg/L)

Florida

100%

162 of 162 cities

← = Exactly at national rate

National avg

100%

3934 of 3934 cities

City Map

Chromium-6 data across Florida

Each dot is a city with UCMR 3 chromium-6 data. Detected cities are shown; there is no federal MCL — California's 10 µg/L limit is used as a reference. Size reflects population served.

Worst Offenders

Top 10 cities by chromium-6 level in Florida

Highest Chromium-6 levels (µg/L)

All Cities

All Florida cities ranked by chromium-6 level

#	City	Level	Detected?	Violations	Grade
1	Pensacola	2.60 µg/L	Detected	5	C
2	Zephyrhills	2.40 µg/L	Detected	18	F
3	Ocala	2.23 µg/L	Detected	91	F
4	Quincy	2.10 µg/L	Detected	32	F
5	Brooksville	1.90 µg/L	Detected	41	F
6	Lady Lake	1.60 µg/L	Detected	18	F
7	Tallahassee	1.50 µg/L	Detected	12	F
8	Belleview	1.50 µg/L	Detected	18	F
9	Bonifay	1.32 µg/L	Detected	3	C-
10	The Villages	1.30 µg/L	Detected	1	B
11	Wildwood	1.30 µg/L	Detected	2	B-
12	Vero Beach	1.10 µg/L	Detected	7	D
13	Homosassa	0.80 µg/L	Detected	2	D
14	Century	0.72 µg/L	Detected	1	B-
15	Daytona Beach	0.69 µg/L	Detected	5	A-
16	Gainesville	0.68 µg/L	Detected	8	B
17	Cape Coral	0.68 µg/L	Detected	1	A
18	New Port Richey	0.67 µg/L	Detected	68	F
19	Eustis	0.63 µg/L	Detected	16	B-
20	Tarpon Springs	0.62 µg/L	Detected	3	B+
21	Coral Springs	0.61 µg/L	Detected	17	F
22	Palm Beach Gardens	0.55 µg/L	Detected	2	B
23	Dade City	0.55 µg/L	Detected	8	F
24	Palm Springs	0.54 µg/L	Detected	0	B
25	Minneola	0.53 µg/L	Detected	4	B-
26	Temple Terrace	0.51 µg/L	Detected	4	A-
27	Defuniak Springs	0.51 µg/L	Detected	10	B
28	Milton	0.49 µg/L	Detected	19	B-
29	Marco Island	0.48 µg/L	Detected	5	B-
30	South Daytona	0.48 µg/L	Detected	2	A
31	North Lauderdale	0.44 µg/L	Detected	1	F
32	Pace	0.43 µg/L	Detected	4	A
33	Lecanto	0.43 µg/L	Detected	2	F
34	Palm Coast	0.42 µg/L	Detected	6	B+
35	Edgewater	0.42 µg/L	Detected	50	B-
36	Clermont	0.40 µg/L	Detected	58	F
37	Bartow	0.38 µg/L	Detected	6	F
38	Alachua	0.37 µg/L	Detected	6	C+
39	Naples	0.37 µg/L	Detected	42	F
40	Chattahoochee	0.35 µg/L	Detected	1	B-
41	Lake Worth Beach	0.32 µg/L	Detected	0	B+
42	Lakeland	0.31 µg/L	Detected	27	D
43	Pompano Beach	0.29 µg/L	Detected	1	F
44	Riviera Beach	0.29 µg/L	Detected	32	F
45	Hudson	0.29 µg/L	Detected	4	D
46	Fort Myers	0.28 µg/L	Detected	5	C+
47	Deltona	0.28 µg/L	Detected	19	B+
48	Lauderhill	0.28 µg/L	Detected	6	F
49	Davie/Hollywood	0.27 µg/L	Detected	1	C
50	Tampa	0.26 µg/L	Detected	64	F
51	West Palm Beach	0.26 µg/L	Detected	23	C-
52	Lauderdale Lakes	0.26 µg/L	Detected	2	C
53	Navarre	0.26 µg/L	Detected	2	B-
54	Niceville	0.26 µg/L	Detected	5	A-
55	Stuart	0.26 µg/L	Detected	25	F
56	Port Orange	0.26 µg/L	Detected	2	B-
57	Wellington	0.24 µg/L	Detected	0	A-
58	Oakland Park	0.24 µg/L	Detected	0	C-
59	Safety Harbor	0.24 µg/L	Detected	1	A
60	Holly Hill	0.24 µg/L	Detected	0	B+
61	Cocoa	0.23 µg/L	Detected	1	A-
62	Coconut Creek	0.23 µg/L	Detected	0	C+
63	Lehigh Acres	0.23 µg/L	Detected	7	B
64	West Melbourne	0.23 µg/L	Detected	4	B+
65	High Springs	0.23 µg/L	Detected	18	B-
66	Ft Lauderdale	0.22 µg/L	Detected	12	F
67	Winter Park	0.22 µg/L	Detected	6	C+
68	North Miami	0.22 µg/L	Detected	1	B
69	Delray Beach	0.22 µg/L	Detected	7	C
70	Wilton Manors	0.22 µg/L	Detected	1	C+
71	Margate	0.21 µg/L	Detected	0	C-
72	Gulf Breeze	0.21 µg/L	Detected	5	B
73	Opa Locka	0.21 µg/L	Detected	1	B-
74	Florida City	0.20 µg/L	Detected	26	F
75	Boynton Beach	0.19 µg/L	Detected	42	F
76	New Smyrna Beach	0.19 µg/L	Detected	18	B+
77	Deerfield Beach	0.19 µg/L	Detected	0	C
78	Sunrise	0.18 µg/L	Detected	1	F
79	Palm Bay	0.18 µg/L	Detected	8	B
80	Crestview	0.18 µg/L	Detected	13	A-
81	Titusville	0.18 µg/L	Detected	1	C
82	Barefoot Bay	0.18 µg/L	Detected	3	A
83	Miami	0.17 µg/L	Detected	104	F
84	Orlando	0.17 µg/L	Detected	78	F
85	Groveland	0.17 µg/L	Detected	2	B
86	Ormond Beach	0.16 µg/L	Detected	43	D+
87	Springfield	0.16 µg/L	Detected	15	C
88	Miami Beach	0.15 µg/L	Detected	1	C+
89	Sanford	0.15 µg/L	Detected	8	F
90	Lake Mary	0.14 µg/L	Detected	1	B
91	Cantonment	0.13 µg/L	Detected	5	B
92	Port Charlotte	0.13 µg/L	Detected	4	B-
93	Winter Pk/Casselbery	0.13 µg/L	Detected	0	A-
94	Dania Beach	0.13 µg/L	Detected	9	D
95	North Miami Beach	0.12 µg/L	Detected	1	B
96	Clearwater	0.12 µg/L	Detected	14	F
97	Bonita Springs	0.12 µg/L	Detected	8	B
98	Tamarac	0.12 µg/L	Detected	0	F
99	Immokalee	0.12 µg/L	Detected	15	B
100	Trenton	0.12 µg/L	Detected	8	B+
101	Pembroke Pines	0.11 µg/L	Detected	8	F
102	Melbourne	0.11 µg/L	Detected	0	A-
103	Miramar	0.11 µg/L	Detected	2	F
104	Fort Pierce	0.11 µg/L	Detected	85	F
105	Englewood	0.11 µg/L	Detected	1	B
106	Davenport	0.11 µg/L	Detected	14	F
107	Odessa	0.10 µg/L	Detected	8	C+
108	Port St Lucie	0.10 µg/L	Detected	2	D
109	Pinellas Park	0.10 µg/L	Detected	3	B
110	Jacksonville	0.10 µg/L	Detected	116	F
111	Homestead	0.10 µg/L	Detected	3	C
112	Gulfport	0.10 µg/L	Detected	1	A-
113	Jensen Beach	0.10 µg/L	Detected	75	D
114	Hialeah	0.09 µg/L	Detected	0	B-
115	Oviedo	0.09 µg/L	Detected	12	B-
116	Bradenton	0.09 µg/L	Detected	9	F
117	Kissimmee	0.09 µg/L	Detected	26	F
118	Hallandale Beach	0.09 µg/L	Detected	2	F
119	Okeechobee	0.08 µg/L	Detected	150	F
120	Casselberry	0.08 µg/L	Detected	10	B
121	Hobe Sound	0.08 µg/L	Detected	23	F
122	Live Oak	0.08 µg/L	Detected	23	D
123	Parker	0.08 µg/L	Detected	7	A-
124	Palmetto	0.08 µg/L	Detected	3	B-
125	Boca Raton	0.08 µg/L	Detected	14	B+
126	Sarasota	0.08 µg/L	Detected	9	C+
127	Lake City	0.07 µg/L	Detected	112	F
128	Winter Springs	0.07 µg/L	Detected	15	B
129	Maitland	0.07 µg/L	Detected	1	B+
130	Hialeah Gardens	0.07 µg/L	Detected	6	B+
131	Avon Park	0.07 µg/L	Detected	6	C-
132	Hollywood	0.06 µg/L	Detected	32	F
133	Tequesta	0.06 µg/L	Detected	1	B-
134	Orange City	0.06 µg/L	Detected	14	C+
135	Panama City	0.06 µg/L	Detected	6	B-
136	Winter Haven	0.06 µg/L	Detected	28	F
137	Fort Walton Beach	0.06 µg/L	Detected	4	A
138	St. Augustine	0.06 µg/L	Detected	39	F
139	Haines City	0.06 µg/L	Detected	17	F
140	Weston	0.06 µg/L	Detected	2	B-
141	Longwood	0.05 µg/L	Detected	9	F
142	Panama City Beach	0.05 µg/L	Detected	12	A-
143	Sebring	0.05 µg/L	Detected	43	F
144	Deland	0.05 µg/L	Detected	11	C-
145	Mount Dora	0.05 µg/L	Detected	6	A
146	Lake Buena Vista	0.05 µg/L	Detected	0	A
147	Leesburg	0.04 µg/L	Detected	49	F
148	Punta Gorda	0.04 µg/L	Detected	101	F
149	Jupiter	0.04 µg/L	Detected	1	B+
150	Altamonte Springs	0.04 µg/L	Detected	3	C+
151	Lynn Haven	0.04 µg/L	Detected	3	A-
152	Port St. Joe	0.04 µg/L	Detected	25	C-
153	Apopka	0.04 µg/L	Detected	14	F
154	North Port	0.04 µg/L	Detected	3	B
155	Auburndale	0.03 µg/L	Detected	5	F
156	Atlantic Beach	0.03 µg/L	Detected	6	A
157	Ocoee	0.03 µg/L	Detected	5	C-
158	Miramar Beach	0.03 µg/L	Detected	1	A-
159	Plant City	0.03 µg/L	Detected	85	D
160	Bushnell	0.03 µg/L	Detected	22	D+
161	Lake Wales	0.03 µg/L	Detected	56	F
162	Sanibel Island	0.03 µg/L	Detected	0	A-

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about chromium-6 in Florida

Is chromium-6 in Florida tap water dangerous?

Chromium-6 (hexavalent chromium) is a potential human carcinogen. There is currently no federal MCL — California's 10 µg/L limit is the most protective US standard. 162 cities in Florida had detectable chromium-6 in UCMR 3 testing (2013–2015). Reverse osmosis is the most effective removal method.

Where does chromium-6 come from in Florida water?

Chromium-6 enters water supplies from two main sources: natural weathering of chromium-containing rock formations (especially in the Southwest and parts of the Midwest) and industrial discharge from steel mills, chrome plating, and coal ash sites. Groundwater systems are more commonly affected by natural sources, while surface water systems near industrial areas face pollution-related risks.

How can I filter chromium-6 from my water in Florida?

Reverse osmosis (RO) systems are the most effective, removing over 95% of chromium-6. Some high-quality activated alumina or anion exchange filters also provide significant reduction. Standard carbon filters and pitcher filters are generally NOT effective against chromium-6. Look for filters certified by NSF International against NSF/ANSI 58 (for RO systems).

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