Strontium Contamination

Strontium in Illinois Drinking Water

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

235

Cities Tested

Over HRL

% Over HRL

441.8 µg/L

State Avg

▲ 2% vs national

vs National

687

Health Violations

Analysis

Strontium in Illinois: what the data shows

Illinois has 235 cities with strontium data from the EPA's UCMR 3 program (2013–2015). Strontium was detected above the 1,500 µg/L EPA health reference level in 18 of those cities. The state average max detected level is 441.8 µg/L. Strontium occurs naturally in groundwater, particularly in areas with limestone and dolomite geology. It can also enter water from industrial waste and mining operations. There is no federal MCL for strontium, but the EPA established a health reference level (HRL) of 1,500 µg/L. Long-term exposure to strontium above the HRL may affect bone health, particularly in children, by substituting for calcium in developing bones. Reverse osmosis and ion exchange systems are effective at removing strontium from drinking water.

Comparison

Cities exceeding 1,500 µg/L EPA HRL (no MCL)

Illinois

18 of 235 cities

→ ▲ 2% above national rate (worse)

National avg

247 of 4292 cities

City Map

Strontium data across Illinois

Each dot is a city with UCMR 3 strontium testing data. Cities where strontium exceeds the 1,500 µg/L EPA health reference level are highlighted. Size reflects population served.

Worst Offenders

Top 10 cities by strontium level in Illinois

Highest Strontium levels (µg/L)

All Cities

All Illinois cities ranked by strontium level

#	City	Level	Over HRL?	Violations	Grade
1	Antioch	7548.4 µg/L	Over HRL	6	C-
2	Saint Charles	3317.8 µg/L	Over HRL	3	B+
3	Lake Bluff	3240.0 µg/L	Over HRL	18	C+
4	Lemont	3155.8 µg/L	Over HRL	26	D
5	Joliet	3100.0 µg/L	Over HRL	131	F
6	Bartlett	2653.3 µg/L	Over HRL	49	B-
7	Oswego	2638.6 µg/L	Over HRL	24	A-
8	North Aurora	2435.9 µg/L	Over HRL	27	A-
9	Lake Zurich	2335.8 µg/L	Over HRL	35	B+
10	Peotone	2196.6 µg/L	Over HRL	3	A-
11	Warrenville	2147.8 µg/L	Over HRL	0	B+
12	South Elgin	2069.8 µg/L	Over HRL	28	C
13	Algonquin	1847.7 µg/L	Over HRL	6	A-
14	Frankfort	1839.3 µg/L	Over HRL	7	B+
15	Sycamore	1700.0 µg/L	Over HRL	31	A-
16	Sauk	1697.2 µg/L	Over HRL	5	D
17	Wauconda	1665.6 µg/L	Over HRL	3	A
18	Batavia	1623.0 µg/L	Over HRL	33	B+
19	Morris	1486.4 µg/L	No	74	F
20	Lindenhurst	1466.6 µg/L	No	0	B+
21	Dwight	1450.0 µg/L	No	8	B+
22	Lockport	1370.9 µg/L	No	20	F
23	Lake In The Hills	1314.6 µg/L	No	4	A-
24	Cary	1285.9 µg/L	No	11	A-
25	De Kalb	1245.7 µg/L	No	7	B+
26	Western Springs	1237.6 µg/L	No	2	B
27	Ottawa	1172.5 µg/L	No	62	F
28	Huntley	1154.9 µg/L	No	15	A
29	Peru	1129.9 µg/L	No	92	F
30	Shorewood	1084.8 µg/L	No	4	A-
31	Yorkville	1082.0 µg/L	No	83	C+
32	Kankakee	1030.0 µg/L	No	40	F
33	Mchenry	1006.7 µg/L	No	57	F
34	Minooka	994.9 µg/L	No	6	A-
35	Kewanee	959.5 µg/L	No	34	B
36	Gifford	950.0 µg/L	No	0	B
37	St. Charles	900.0 µg/L	No	17	F
38	Hanover Park	885.3 µg/L	No	3	A
39	Barrington	870.7 µg/L	No	3	B+
40	Crest Hill	780.0 µg/L	No	12	F
41	Coleta	765.1 µg/L	No	1	A-
42	Montgomery	690.0 µg/L	No	4	A-
43	Romeoville	646.8 µg/L	No	17	A-
44	Richton Park	632.7 µg/L	No	5	F
45	Dekalb	600.0 µg/L	No	2	A-
46	Orion	547.3 µg/L	No	2	B-
47	Belvidere	465.9 µg/L	No	8	A-
48	Elgin	451.1 µg/L	No	9	C-
49	Aurora	440.0 µg/L	No	20	D
50	Peoria	412.1 µg/L	No	5	C-
51	Rochelle	400.0 µg/L	No	11	A
52	Rockford	396.0 µg/L	No	43	F
53	Atkinson	384.9 µg/L	No	3	B+
54	Sleepy Hollow	384.4 µg/L	No	4	A-
55	Dixon	380.0 µg/L	No	57	C
56	Park Forest	330.0 µg/L	No	2	A
57	Crystal Lake	320.0 µg/L	No	4	A-
58	Macomb	301.3 µg/L	No	39	D
59	East Peoria	290.4 µg/L	No	133	F
60	Good Hope	275.4 µg/L	No	4	A-
61	Streator	246.5 µg/L	No	14	A-
62	Farmer City	235.1 µg/L	No	1	B-
63	Morton	222.4 µg/L	No	13	B-
64	Pontiac	220.9 µg/L	No	10	C
65	Rantoul	211.8 µg/L	No	54	D
66	Loves Park	210.4 µg/L	No	35	B
67	Troy	202.6 µg/L	No	3	A-
68	Bethalto	200.3 µg/L	No	0	A-
69	Bellwood	194.2 µg/L	No	7	B+
70	Plano	190.9 µg/L	No	0	B+
71	Woodstock	189.5 µg/L	No	3	B-
72	North Pekin	188.0 µg/L	No	1	A-
73	Champaign	183.0 µg/L	No	0	A
74	Chatham	178.2 µg/L	No	2	A
75	Quincy	178.0 µg/L	No	3	B-
76	Pekin	169.1 µg/L	No	1	D+
77	Caseyville	166.9 µg/L	No	3	B+
78	Freeport	162.0 µg/L	No	19	B-
79	East St Louis	156.8 µg/L	No	1	B+
80	Normal	155.9 µg/L	No	3	D+
81	Granite City	153.0 µg/L	No	0	B+
82	Alton	151.9 µg/L	No	1	B
83	Rolling Meadows	150.0 µg/L	No	3	A
84	Calumet City	149.5 µg/L	No	3	C-
85	Riverdale	146.1 µg/L	No	6	B+
86	Westmont	145.8 µg/L	No	6	B-
87	Homewood	142.3 µg/L	No	2	C
88	Winnetka	141.9 µg/L	No	0	A
89	Mundelein	141.3 µg/L	No	22	F
90	Round Lake Beach	141.0 µg/L	No	3	B+
91	Godfrey	140.7 µg/L	No	22	C+
92	River Grove	139.7 µg/L	No	3	A-
93	Des Plaines	138.8 µg/L	No	0	B+
94	Alsip	138.8 µg/L	No	2	A-
95	Geneva	138.3 µg/L	No	67	B-
96	Dolton	136.8 µg/L	No	2	C
97	Franklin Park	136.7 µg/L	No	5	B
98	Jerseyville	136.1 µg/L	No	6	A-
99	Glenview	136.0 µg/L	No	3	B+
100	Park Ridge	135.4 µg/L	No	1	B
101	Gurnee	135.4 µg/L	No	4	A
102	Robinson	135.0 µg/L	No	0	A-
103	Schaumburg	134.7 µg/L	No	17	B+
104	Oak Park	134.6 µg/L	No	2	A
105	Westhaven	134.2 µg/L	No	3	A+
106	Oak Brook	134.2 µg/L	No	8	D
107	Midlothian	134.0 µg/L	No	5	A-
108	Darien	133.3 µg/L	No	6	C+
109	Round Lake	133.3 µg/L	No	3	A-
110	Edwardsville	133.0 µg/L	No	18	D+
111	Wheeling	132.9 µg/L	No	5	A+
112	Hoffman Estates	132.9 µg/L	No	7	A+
113	Streamwood	132.9 µg/L	No	2	A-
114	Blue Island	132.9 µg/L	No	19	C
115	Northbrook	132.8 µg/L	No	55	D
116	Bolingbrook	132.7 µg/L	No	2	A
117	O Fallon	132.6 µg/L	No	17	A-
118	Waukegan	132.6 µg/L	No	5	B+
119	Cicero	132.5 µg/L	No	3	B
120	Wilmette	132.5 µg/L	No	0	A
121	North Lake	132.3 µg/L	No	1	B+
122	Weston	132.2 µg/L	No	6	A
123	Elmhurst	132.1 µg/L	No	2	A-
124	Roselle	132.0 µg/L	No	2	A-
125	Glendale Heights	131.9 µg/L	No	1	A
126	Markham	131.9 µg/L	No	7	B
127	South Holland	131.8 µg/L	No	5	B-
128	Mokena	131.8 µg/L	No	2	A
129	Chicago Heights	131.7 µg/L	No	0	B+
130	Deerfield	131.7 µg/L	No	4	B
131	Zion	131.7 µg/L	No	1	B
132	Glenwood	131.6 µg/L	No	0	B+
133	Summit	131.6 µg/L	No	1	B+
134	Lincoln	131.5 µg/L	No	8	F
135	Libertyville	131.1 µg/L	No	14	C
136	Palos Hills	131.1 µg/L	No	3	A
137	Lake Forest	131.1 µg/L	No	58	B-
138	Harvey	131.0 µg/L	No	1	B
139	Bensenville	131.0 µg/L	No	4	A
140	Addison	130.8 µg/L	No	0	A
141	Downers Grove	130.7 µg/L	No	2	A
142	Hazel Crest	130.6 µg/L	No	2	B
143	Justice	130.6 µg/L	No	0	A-
144	Schiller Park	130.6 µg/L	No	7	A-
145	Burr Ridge	130.3 µg/L	No	0	A
146	Lombard	130.3 µg/L	No	1	A-
147	Matteson	130.2 µg/L	No	1	B
148	Naperville	130.0 µg/L	No	0	B+
149	Evanston	130.0 µg/L	No	1	A+
150	Orland Park	130.0 µg/L	No	0	A-
151	Highland Park	130.0 µg/L	No	2	B+
152	Worth	129.9 µg/L	No	3	A
153	Maywood	129.8 µg/L	No	3	C+
154	Tinley Park	129.7 µg/L	No	0	B+
155	Westchester	129.6 µg/L	No	2	B
156	River Forest	129.6 µg/L	No	1	B+
157	Arlington Heights	129.5 µg/L	No	1	B-
158	Palatine	129.4 µg/L	No	2	B
159	Hickory Hills	129.3 µg/L	No	1	A
160	Chicago Ridge	129.3 µg/L	No	1	A-
161	Crestwood	129.2 µg/L	No	0	B
162	Woodridge	129.1 µg/L	No	2	A-
163	Berwyn	128.9 µg/L	No	3	A-
164	Niles	128.9 µg/L	No	3	B
165	Forest Park	128.9 µg/L	No	2	A-
166	Melrose Park	128.7 µg/L	No	6	C
167	Grays Lake	128.5 µg/L	No	6	A
168	Lincolnwood	128.3 µg/L	No	1	B+
169	Country Club Hills	128.2 µg/L	No	0	A-
170	Wheaton	128.1 µg/L	No	2	B-
171	New Lenox	128.1 µg/L	No	7	D+
172	Brookfield	128.1 µg/L	No	0	A-
173	North Chicago	127.5 µg/L	No	5	B+
174	Buffalo Grove	127.3 µg/L	No	1	A
175	Elk Grove	127.2 µg/L	No	2	A-
176	Palos Heights	127.0 µg/L	No	1	A-
177	Lisle	126.9 µg/L	No	2	A-
178	Glen Ellyn	126.5 µg/L	No	0	A-
179	Skokie	125.8 µg/L	No	9	C-
180	Bridgeview	125.4 µg/L	No	0	A-
181	Oak Forest	125.3 µg/L	No	0	B+
182	La Grange	124.9 µg/L	No	1	B
183	Elmwood Park	124.7 µg/L	No	3	B+
184	Oak Lawn	124.6 µg/L	No	2	B
185	Norridge	124.5 µg/L	No	0	A-
186	Wood Dale	124.3 µg/L	No	0	A-
187	Lyons	124.3 µg/L	No	7	A-
188	Lansing	124.2 µg/L	No	2	B
189	Plainfield	124.0 µg/L	No	23	B-
190	Villa Park	123.7 µg/L	No	2	A
191	Carol Stream	123.4 µg/L	No	1	A-
192	Hinsdale	122.5 µg/L	No	0	A
193	Taylorville	122.5 µg/L	No	0	A-
194	Evergreen Park	122.2 µg/L	No	0	B+
195	Burbank (South Stickney)	121.6 µg/L	No	7	B+
196	La Grange Park	121.4 µg/L	No	2	A
197	Wood River	121.3 µg/L	No	0	B+
198	Chicago	120.0 µg/L	No	68	F
199	Morton Grove	120.0 µg/L	No	2	B-
200	Freeburg	120.0 µg/L	No	7	A-
201	Mount Prospect	118.6 µg/L	No	1	B+
202	East Moline	113.2 µg/L	No	18	D+
203	Rock Island	111.6 µg/L	No	5	B-
204	Nashville	108.5 µg/L	No	27	C-
205	Centralia	107.8 µg/L	No	2	B
206	Dieterich	106.2 µg/L	No	7	F
207	Machesney Park	102.8 µg/L	No	4	B
208	Galesburg	100.8 µg/L	No	1	B
209	Mascoutah	100.0 µg/L	No	6	A-
210	West Chicago	99.6 µg/L	No	22	A
211	Springfield	96.0 µg/L	No	3	D
212	Mattoon	94.1 µg/L	No	14	B-
213	Tamaroa	87.1 µg/L	No	0	A-
214	Benton	87.0 µg/L	No	5	D
215	Waverly	86.8 µg/L	No	22	A
216	Collinsville	86.6 µg/L	No	12	C-
217	Salem	86.4 µg/L	No	7	C
218	Decatur	85.0 µg/L	No	28	B
219	Moline	83.9 µg/L	No	7	C
220	Canton	83.7 µg/L	No	7	B+
221	Carterville	79.8 µg/L	No	3	C+
222	Herrin	79.8 µg/L	No	0	C+
223	Murphysboro	79.3 µg/L	No	8	B
224	Jacksonville	79.0 µg/L	No	28	B-
225	Mount Vernon	78.7 µg/L	No	2	B+
226	Danville	78.0 µg/L	No	24	B
227	Marion	76.8 µg/L	No	29	D
228	Effingham	72.9 µg/L	No	2	A-
229	Washington	72.5 µg/L	No	5	C
230	Charleston	70.5 µg/L	No	10	C+
231	Carbondale	68.7 µg/L	No	26	D
232	Bloomington	68.0 µg/L	No	21	F
233	Eureka	62.2 µg/L	No	20	B
234	Glen Carbon	58.1 µg/L	No	0	B
235	Carpentersville	56.1 µg/L	No	0	B+

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about strontium in Illinois

Is strontium in Illinois tap water harmful?

Strontium at low levels is not considered harmful, but the EPA set a health reference level (HRL) of 1,500 µg/L based on potential bone effects. 18 cities in Illinois exceed this HRL. There is currently no federal MCL for strontium. Children may be more susceptible because strontium can substitute for calcium in developing bones.

How can I remove strontium from my drinking water?

Reverse osmosis and ion exchange (water softener) systems are effective at removing strontium from drinking water. Standard carbon filters are NOT effective. If your water comes from a well in an area with limestone or dolomite geology, consider testing for strontium.

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