Cadmium in drinking water
857 active public water systems in 43 states had a Cadmium violation in the past three years, and 15 had one in the latest quarter of EPA's data.
You are on Tapcensus, an independent guide to the EPA compliance records of every public water system in the United States. This page explains Cadmium and lists the water systems whose records include a related violation. It does not show measured levels.
Is Cadmium 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.
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What it is and where it comes from
Cadmium is a heavy metal that enters drinking water primarily through corrosion of galvanized pipes and solder, industrial discharge from metal refining and battery manufacturing, and leaching from natural mineral deposits. It is also a byproduct of zinc production. Levels in water are typically low but can accumulate in plumbing infrastructure over time.
Health effects
Cadmium accumulates in the kidneys and can cause kidney damage with long-term exposure. It is classified by the EPA as a probable human carcinogen (Group B1). Bone demineralization and reproductive effects have also been observed at elevated exposure levels.
The standard and what a violation means
EPA limit: 0.005 mg/L (5 ppb).
Water systems with a Cadmium 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 | In violation, latest quarter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 121 | 2% | 0 |
| Texas | 73 | 1% | 0 |
| Illinois | 69 | 1% | 2 |
| Georgia | 61 | 3% | 0 |
| New York | 54 | 1% | 0 |
| Michigan | 48 | 0% | 0 |
| Colorado | 32 | 1% | 4 |
| Indiana | 29 | 1% | 0 |
| West Virginia | 28 | 4% | 0 |
| New Jersey | 27 | 1% | 0 |
| California | 23 | 0% | 0 |
| Missouri | 22 | 1% | 2 |
| Wyoming | 22 | 3% | 0 |
| Washington | 21 | 0% | 0 |
| Montana | 20 | 1% | 0 |
| Oklahoma | 20 | 2% | 0 |
| Idaho | 19 | 1% | 1 |
| Connecticut | 17 | 1% | 0 |
| Virginia | 15 | 1% | 0 |
| Oregon | 14 | 1% | 1 |
| Maine | 12 | 1% | 0 |
| Massachusetts | 11 | 1% | 2 |
| Wisconsin | 11 | 0% | 0 |
| Utah | 10 | 1% | 0 |
| Iowa | 8 | 0% | 0 |
| Nevada | 8 | 1% | 0 |
| Alaska | 7 | 1% | 0 |
| Mississippi | 7 | 1% | 0 |
| Vermont | 7 | 1% | 2 |
| Maryland | 6 | 0% | 0 |
| North Carolina | 6 | 0% | 0 |
| Arizona | 5 | 0% | 1 |
| Minnesota | 5 | 0% | 0 |
| Alabama | 4 | 1% | 0 |
| Rhode Island | 3 | 1% | 0 |
| Florida | 2 | 0% | 0 |
| Kansas | 2 | 0% | 0 |
| New Hampshire | 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 Cadmium 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 | |
|
Greater Johnstown WA Riverside Cambria County |
49,500 | 7 | 0 | |
|
Greenlawn Water District Huntington (t) · Suffolk County |
42,000 | 3 | 0 | |
|
Winslow Twp Dmu Winslow Twp · Camden County |
39,174 | 6 | 0 |
About this data
A system is counted once if any of its violations in the past three years involved Cadmium, including monitoring and reporting lapses. Rules violated and status in the systems table are for the whole system, not Cadmium 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.