Beryllium in drinking water
862 active public water systems in 43 states had a Beryllium violation in the past three years, and 16 have one that is still unresolved.
You are on Tapcensus, an independent guide to the EPA compliance records of every public water system in the United States. This page explains Beryllium and lists the water systems whose records include a related violation. It does not show measured levels.
Is Beryllium in the records for your water system?
Enter a ZIP code, town, or street address to see the water systems that serve your area, their status, and which rules and contaminants appear in their violations.
Enter a ZIP code, town, or street address.
What it is and where it comes from
Beryllium is a rare alkaline earth metal that enters drinking water through discharge from metal refineries, coal burning, and electrical and aerospace manufacturing industries. Natural erosion of beryllium-containing minerals can also contribute. It is among the less commonly detected regulated metals in US drinking water systems.
Health effects
Chronic oral exposure to beryllium is associated with intestinal lesions and bone damage. EPA classifies beryllium as a probable human carcinogen (Group B2) based on animal evidence and limited human data. Occupational inhalation exposure causes a distinct lung disease (berylliosis), but the oral route primarily targets the GI tract and bone.
The standard and what a violation means
EPA limit: 0.004 mg/L (4 ppb).
Water systems with a Beryllium violation, by state
Active public water systems that reported at least one related violation to EPA in the past three years. Each state links to the list of its affected systems.
| State | Systems with violations, 3 yr | Share of active systems | Unresolved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 116 | 2% | 0 |
| Texas | 73 | 1% | 0 |
| Illinois | 69 | 1% | 2 |
| Georgia | 61 | 3% | 0 |
| New York | 55 | 1% | 0 |
| Michigan | 51 | 0% | 0 |
| Colorado | 29 | 1% | 4 |
| Indiana | 29 | 1% | 0 |
| New Jersey | 29 | 1% | 0 |
| West Virginia | 29 | 4% | 0 |
| California | 23 | 0% | 0 |
| Montana | 22 | 1% | 0 |
| Wyoming | 22 | 3% | 0 |
| Missouri | 21 | 1% | 2 |
| Washington | 21 | 0% | 0 |
| Oklahoma | 20 | 2% | 0 |
| Idaho | 19 | 1% | 1 |
| Connecticut | 17 | 1% | 0 |
| Virginia | 15 | 1% | 0 |
| Oregon | 13 | 1% | 0 |
| Maine | 12 | 1% | 0 |
| Wisconsin | 11 | 0% | 0 |
| Massachusetts | 10 | 1% | 2 |
| Utah | 10 | 1% | 0 |
| Nevada | 9 | 1% | 0 |
| Iowa | 8 | 0% | 0 |
| Alaska | 7 | 1% | 0 |
| Mississippi | 7 | 1% | 0 |
| North Carolina | 7 | 0% | 1 |
| Vermont | 7 | 1% | 2 |
| New Hampshire | 6 | 0% | 1 |
| Arizona | 5 | 0% | 1 |
| Maryland | 5 | 0% | 0 |
| Minnesota | 5 | 0% | 0 |
| Alabama | 4 | 1% | 0 |
| Florida | 4 | 0% | 0 |
| Rhode Island | 3 | 1% | 0 |
| Kansas | 2 | 0% | 0 |
| South Dakota | 2 | 0% | 0 |
| Hawaii | 1 | 1% | 0 |
| Kentucky | 1 | 0% | 0 |
| North Dakota | 1 | 0% | 0 |
| New Mexico | 1 | 0% | 0 |
Largest water systems with a Beryllium violation
The ten biggest systems, by people served, whose records include a related violation in the past three years.
| System | Serves | Status | Rules violated, 3 yr | Unresolved |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Aqua PA Main System Montgomery County |
822,600 | 6 | 0 | |
|
Aquarion-Eastern Fairfield County Beacon Falls, Bridgeport, Darien and 17 more · Fairfield County |
351,756 | 2 | 0 | |
|
Corona, City of Corona · Riverside County |
169,380 | 6 | 0 | |
|
City of Sunnyvale Sunnyvale · Santa Clara County |
157,566 | 5 | 0 | |
|
Aqua WSC Bastrop County |
86,325 | 5 | 1 | |
|
GW Santa Cruz Water CO Maricopa · Pinal County |
84,000 | 7 | 0 | |
|
Tigard, City of Washington County |
62,500 | 2 | 0 | |
|
Greenlawn Water District Huntington (t) · Suffolk County |
42,000 | 3 | 0 | |
|
Winslow Twp Dmu Winslow Twp · Camden County |
39,174 | 6 | 0 | |
|
Jackson Twp Mua Jackson Twp · Ocean County |
37,224 | 3 | 0 |
About this data
A system is counted once if any of its violations in the past three years involved Beryllium, including monitoring and reporting lapses. Rules violated and status in the systems table are for the whole system, not Beryllium alone. Counts cover active systems in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Source: the U.S. EPA's Enforcement and Compliance History Online system (ECHO), which publishes the federal Safe Drinking Water Information System. EPA's terms and values are shown as published. The records are from EPA's data refresh of Oct 7, 2026; EPA refreshes this data quarterly, and states report to EPA with a lag of three to six months, so the newest violations may not appear yet.