On average, each person consumes over two liters of water each day, and the water that we drink may contain natural or man-made contaminants. As a result, drinking water may be a route of exposure to potentially hazardous substances that can lead to possible adverse immediate or long-term health effects.
To help further understand the relationship between adverse health effects and drinking water contaminants, the California Environmental Health Tracking Program (CEHTP) is presenting summary statistics about community water systems within California.
Additional information about drinking water quality is provided in the links below. Select a topic below or use the left side bar to navigate.
- What are Drinking Water Contaminants: The water we drink may contain natural or man-made contaminants. These contaminants are a potential threat to human health…more
- Arsenic: Arsenic is a toxic element that occurs naturally in the environment and is also a byproduct of some industrial activities. Exposure to arsenic has been associated with cancer, heart disease, and other toxic effects…more
- Disinfection Byproducts (DBP): Disinfection byproducts are a family of chemicals formed when disinfectants react with naturally occurring organic matter in the source water. Long term exposure to DBPs may be associated with …more
- Nitrates: Nitrate is the most common contaminant in groundwater aquifers worldwide. Nitrate was first identified as a public health threat in drinking water in 1945 when high nitrate levels…more
- Drinking Water Monitoring: Drinking water standards are set at levels necessary to protect the public from acute and chronic health risks associated with consuming the contaminants in the drinking water supplies…more
- Measures & Limitations: There are major limitations in using drinking water quality data in its current state for environmental health tracking and for learning about the relationship between drinking water and health…more
- Where to Find Data: For current information on water quality…more
- Drinking Water Resources
- Metadata / Data FAQs