HAA5 Contamination

HAA5 in Florida Drinking Water

Ranked by average HAA5 concentration (µg/L) · UCMR 4 data (2018–2020) · Data from EPA SDWIS & UCMR

187

Cities Tested

Exceeds Limit

% Exceeds Limit

17.2 µg/L

State Avg

▼ 0% vs national

vs National

343

Health Violations

Analysis

HAA5 in Florida: what the data shows

Florida has 187 cities with HAA5 monitoring data from the EPA's UCMR 4 program (2018–2020). Haloacetic acids (HAA5) form when chlorine-based disinfectants react with natural organic matter in water. The state average is 17.2 µg/L — better than the 15.5 µg/L national average. 2 cities exceed the EPA MCL of 60 µg/L. HAA5 is a group of five chlorinated and brominated acetic acids. Long-term exposure above the MCL is associated with increased cancer risk and adverse reproductive outcomes. The EPA classifies total HAA5 as a probable human carcinogen at elevated concentrations. Activated carbon filtration (especially granular or block carbon) is effective at reducing HAA5. Running water through a refrigerator filter or letting it sit in an open pitcher for 30 minutes also helps, as some HAA5 species are volatile. Boiling does not remove disinfection byproducts and may concentrate them.

Comparison

Cities exceeding 60 µg/L EPA MCL

Florida

2 of 187 cities

← = Exactly at national rate

National avg

23 of 4420 cities

City Map

HAA5 data across Florida

Each dot is a city with UCMR 4 HAA5 testing data. Cities where average HAA5 exceeded the 60 µg/L EPA MCL are highlighted. Size reflects population served.

Worst Offenders

Top 10 cities by haa5 level in Florida

Highest HAA5 levels (µg/L)

All Cities

All Florida cities ranked by haa5 level

#	City	Level	Exceeds?	Violations	Grade
1	Holly Hill	154.1 µg/L	Yes	0	B+
2	Riviera Beach	86.3 µg/L	Yes	32	F
3	Lake Clarke Shores	56.9 µg/L	No	7	B
4	Perry	55.8 µg/L	No	31	F
5	Palm Springs	52.3 µg/L	No	0	B
6	Marco Island	49.7 µg/L	No	5	B-
7	Lauderhill	48.6 µg/L	No	6	F
8	Lauderdale Lakes	43.9 µg/L	No	2	C
9	Ft Lauderdale	42.0 µg/L	No	12	F
10	Deerfield Beach	41.4 µg/L	No	0	C
11	Port St. Joe	40.5 µg/L	No	25	C-
12	North Miami	37.0 µg/L	No	1	B
13	New Smyrna Beach	36.8 µg/L	No	18	B+
14	Hialeah Gardens	35.3 µg/L	No	6	B+
15	Jensen Beach	35.0 µg/L	No	75	D
16	Lake Helen	34.6 µg/L	No	1	A-
17	Winter Haven	33.4 µg/L	No	28	F
18	Stuart	33.0 µg/L	No	25	F
19	Bonita Springs	32.5 µg/L	No	8	B
20	Bradenton	32.3 µg/L	No	9	F
21	Sebring	31.8 µg/L	No	43	F
22	Davenport	31.5 µg/L	No	14	F
23	North Lauderdale	31.1 µg/L	No	1	F
24	Deland	31.1 µg/L	No	11	C-
25	Cocoa	30.9 µg/L	No	1	A-
26	Orange City	29.9 µg/L	No	14	C+
27	Mount Dora	29.7 µg/L	No	6	A
28	Hialeah	29.6 µg/L	No	0	B-
29	Wilton Manors	29.5 µg/L	No	1	C+
30	Plant City	29.5 µg/L	No	85	D
31	Opa Locka	29.2 µg/L	No	1	B-
32	Okeechobee	28.8 µg/L	No	150	F
33	Haines City	28.0 µg/L	No	17	F
34	Bartow	27.4 µg/L	No	6	F
35	Orlando	27.4 µg/L	No	78	F
36	South Daytona	27.2 µg/L	No	2	A
37	Kissimmee	27.1 µg/L	No	26	F
38	Wellington	26.9 µg/L	No	0	A-
39	Boca Raton	26.9 µg/L	No	14	B+
40	Miami Beach	26.4 µg/L	No	1	C+
41	Tamarac	26.4 µg/L	No	0	F
42	Maitland	26.2 µg/L	No	1	B+
43	North Port	26.2 µg/L	No	3	B
44	High Springs	26.2 µg/L	No	18	B-
45	Winter Park	24.9 µg/L	No	6	C+
46	Palmetto	24.5 µg/L	No	3	B-
47	Sarasota	24.5 µg/L	No	9	C+
48	Miami	24.3 µg/L	No	104	F
49	Wildwood	24.1 µg/L	No	2	B-
50	Oakland Park	23.4 µg/L	No	0	C-
51	Lakeland	23.2 µg/L	No	27	D
52	Clearwater	23.0 µg/L	No	14	F
53	Sunrise	22.6 µg/L	No	1	F
54	Titusville	22.6 µg/L	No	1	C
55	Daytona Beach	22.3 µg/L	No	5	A-
56	Altamonte Springs	21.6 µg/L	No	3	C+
57	Pompano Beach	21.4 µg/L	No	1	F
58	Pinellas Park	20.9 µg/L	No	3	B
59	Placida	20.8 µg/L	No	5	B+
60	Punta Gorda	20.8 µg/L	No	101	F
61	Ocoee	20.5 µg/L	No	5	C-
62	Lehigh Acres	20.5 µg/L	No	7	B
63	Fort Pierce	20.2 µg/L	No	85	F
64	Jacksonville	19.9 µg/L	No	6	A-
65	Safety Harbor	19.8 µg/L	No	1	A
66	Longwood	19.7 µg/L	No	9	F
67	Casselberry	19.7 µg/L	No	10	B
68	Callaway	19.6 µg/L	No	3	B+
69	Lake Buena Vista	19.1 µg/L	No	0	A
70	Panama City	19.1 µg/L	No	6	B-
71	Boynton Beach	18.6 µg/L	No	42	F
72	Naples	18.6 µg/L	No	42	F
73	Vero Beach	18.5 µg/L	No	7	D
74	Coral Springs	18.1 µg/L	No	17	F
75	Port Orange	18.1 µg/L	No	2	B-
76	Apopka	18.1 µg/L	No	14	F
77	Ft. Pierce	17.9 µg/L	No	16	F
78	Pembroke Pines	17.9 µg/L	No	8	F
79	Lynn Haven	17.8 µg/L	No	3	A-
80	Delray Beach	17.8 µg/L	No	7	C
81	Odessa	17.6 µg/L	No	8	C+
82	Winter Pk/Casselbery	17.5 µg/L	No	0	A-
83	Auburndale	17.5 µg/L	No	5	F
84	Panama City Beach	16.8 µg/L	No	12	A-
85	Deltona	16.8 µg/L	No	19	B+
86	Lake Worth Beach	16.8 µg/L	No	0	B+
87	Port Charlotte	16.4 µg/L	No	4	B-
88	Coconut Creek	16.3 µg/L	No	0	C+
89	Florida City	16.1 µg/L	No	26	F
90	Englewood	15.7 µg/L	No	1	B
91	Gulfport	15.6 µg/L	No	1	A-
92	Ormond Beach	15.5 µg/L	No	43	D+
93	Atlantic Beach	15.2 µg/L	No	6	A
94	West Palm Beach	14.8 µg/L	No	23	C-
95	Tampa	14.7 µg/L	No	64	F
96	Sanford	14.6 µg/L	No	8	F
97	Jacksonville	14.5 µg/L	No	116	F
98	Winter Springs	14.5 µg/L	No	15	B
99	St Cloud	13.9 µg/L	No	104	F
100	Ponte Vedra Beach	13.7 µg/L	No	12	B
101	Homestead	13.3 µg/L	No	3	C
102	Groveland	12.9 µg/L	No	2	B
103	New Port Richey	12.6 µg/L	No	68	F
104	Palm Coast	12.3 µg/L	No	6	B+
105	Fernandina Beach	12.3 µg/L	No	16	B
106	Lake Wales	12.1 µg/L	No	56	F
107	Ponte Vedra	12.0 µg/L	No	7	B
108	Margate	11.9 µg/L	No	0	C-
109	Tequesta	11.9 µg/L	No	1	B-
110	Hobe Sound	11.8 µg/L	No	23	F
111	Hollywood	11.8 µg/L	No	32	F
112	Fort Myers	11.7 µg/L	No	5	C+
113	Edgewater	11.6 µg/L	No	50	B-
114	North Miami Beach	11.4 µg/L	No	1	B
115	Lake Mary	11.4 µg/L	No	1	B
116	Miramar	11.2 µg/L	No	2	F
117	Palatka	11.2 µg/L	No	119	F
118	Live Oak	11.0 µg/L	No	23	D
119	Clermont	10.8 µg/L	No	58	F
120	Gainesville	10.5 µg/L	No	8	B
121	Lake City	10.5 µg/L	No	112	F
122	West Melbourne	10.4 µg/L	No	4	B+
123	Port St Lucie	9.6 µg/L	No	2	D
124	Melbourne	9.6 µg/L	No	0	A-
125	Dunedin	9.5 µg/L	No	4	B-
126	Winter Garden	9.5 µg/L	No	4	B
127	St. Augustine	9.4 µg/L	No	39	F
128	Temple Terrace	9.2 µg/L	No	4	A-
129	Immokalee	9.0 µg/L	No	15	B
130	Dania Beach	7.7 µg/L	No	9	D
131	Palm Bay	7.5 µg/L	No	8	B
132	Middleburg	7.3 µg/L	No	1	A
133	The Villages	7.0 µg/L	No	1	B
134	Weston	6.8 µg/L	No	2	B-
135	Quincy	6.7 µg/L	No	32	F
136	Oviedo	6.6 µg/L	No	12	B-
137	Arcadia	6.4 µg/L	No	43	F
138	Tavares	5.7 µg/L	No	11	C+
139	Avon Park	5.7 µg/L	No	6	C-
140	Leesburg	5.5 µg/L	No	49	F
141	Eustis	5.3 µg/L	No	16	B-
142	Fort Walton Beach	5.3 µg/L	No	4	A
143	Hurlburt Field	4.8 µg/L	No	6	A-
144	Gulf Breeze	4.8 µg/L	No	5	B
145	Oldsmar	4.5 µg/L	No	0	A
146	Minneola	4.5 µg/L	No	4	B-
147	Hallandale Beach	4.4 µg/L	No	2	F
148	Lithia	4.3 µg/L	No	12	B-
149	Fleming Island	4.1 µg/L	No	1	A
150	St James City	4.0 µg/L	No	0	A
151	Clewiston	3.8 µg/L	No	14	B+
152	N. Fort Myers	3.5 µg/L	No	0	B+
153	Cape Coral	3.4 µg/L	No	1	A
154	Tarpon Springs	3.3 µg/L	No	3	B+
155	Navarre	3.2 µg/L	No	2	B-
156	Ocala	2.7 µg/L	No	91	F
157	Brooksville	2.3 µg/L	No	41	F
158	Green Cove Springs	2.3 µg/L	No	8	A
159	Venice	2.0 µg/L	No	0	B+
160	Santa Rosa Beach	2.0 µg/L	No	5	A
161	Freeport	2.0 µg/L	No	12	B-
162	Crestview	1.8 µg/L	No	13	A-
163	Lady Lake	1.6 µg/L	No	18	F
164	Tallahassee	1.5 µg/L	No	12	F
165	Lecanto	1.3 µg/L	No	2	F
166	Dunnellon	1.3 µg/L	No	10	F
167	Palm Beach Gardens	1.3 µg/L	No	2	B
168	Dade City	1.3 µg/L	No	8	F
169	Destin	1.2 µg/L	No	0	A+
170	Plantation	1.1 µg/L	No	3	D+
171	Pensacola	1.1 µg/L	No	5	C
172	Jupiter	1.1 µg/L	No	1	B+
173	Belleview	1.1 µg/L	No	18	F
174	Cooper City	1.0 µg/L	No	1	C
175	Niceville	0.9 µg/L	No	5	A-
176	Yalaha	0.8 µg/L	No	1	A-
177	Grand Ridge	0.8 µg/L	No	4	A-
178	Bronson	0.7 µg/L	No	0	B+
179	Zephyrhills	0.6 µg/L	No	18	F
180	Sanibel Island	0.5 µg/L	No	0	A-
181	Pace	0.5 µg/L	No	4	A
182	Miramar Beach	0.4 µg/L	No	1	A-
183	Davie/Hollywood	0.4 µg/L	No	1	C
184	Milton	0.2 µg/L	No	19	B-
185	Homosassa	0.2 µg/L	No	2	D
186	Defuniak Springs	0.2 µg/L	No	10	B
187	Century	0.0 µg/L	No	1	B-

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about haa5 in Florida

What is HAA5 and why does it appear in Florida tap water?

HAA5 (haloacetic acids) are disinfection byproducts that form when chlorine reacts with naturally occurring organic matter in source water. They are a normal byproduct of the disinfection process that makes water safe to drink. 2 cities in Florida exceed the EPA MCL of 60 µg/L. The state average is 17.2 µg/L.

How can I reduce HAA5 exposure from Florida drinking water?

Activated carbon filters (granular or block) effectively reduce HAA5. Refrigerator filters and under-sink carbon systems are convenient options. Unlike lead or PFAS, HAA5 levels can also be reduced by letting water stand in an open container, as some species evaporate. Boiling does NOT remove HAA5 and can concentrate them by reducing water volume.

Which Florida cities have the highest HAA5 levels?

The cities with the highest average HAA5 concentrations in Florida are: Holly Hill (154.1 µg/L), Riviera Beach (86.3 µg/L), Lake Clarke Shores (56.9 µg/L), Perry (55.8 µg/L), Palm Springs (52.3 µg/L). Note: this data is from UCMR 4 testing (2018–2020) and may not reflect current levels.

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