Carbofuran in drinking water
1,139 active public water systems in 38 states had a Carbofuran violation in the past three years, and 50 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 Carbofuran and lists the water systems whose records include a related violation. It does not show measured levels.
Is Carbofuran 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
Carbofuran is a systemic carbamate insecticide and nematicide used on crops including corn, rice, and soybeans. EPA regulatory action beginning in 2006 led to cancellation of most food uses by 2009 due to acute toxicity to birds and other wildlife. Carbofuran is water-soluble and mobile in soil and has been detected in groundwater near agricultural areas.
Health effects
Carbofuran is one of the most acutely toxic carbamate pesticides. It inhibits acetylcholinesterase, causing cholinergic toxicity at the nervous system. Short-term exposure above the MCL can cause nausea, headache, blurred vision, and in high doses respiratory failure. Children are most vulnerable to acute effects. EPA has not classified carbofuran as a human carcinogen.
The standard and what a violation means
EPA limit: 0.04 mg/L (40 ppb).
Water systems with a Carbofuran 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 | 172 | 2% | 8 |
| New York | 119 | 1% | 1 |
| Texas | 102 | 1% | 0 |
| Oklahoma | 94 | 7% | 0 |
| Oregon | 75 | 3% | 3 |
| Illinois | 55 | 1% | 9 |
| Idaho | 41 | 2% | 3 |
| Colorado | 38 | 2% | 4 |
| Montana | 37 | 2% | 1 |
| Connecticut | 35 | 1% | 1 |
| West Virginia | 32 | 4% | 3 |
| Utah | 29 | 3% | 1 |
| California | 28 | 0% | 1 |
| Indiana | 27 | 1% | 2 |
| Michigan | 26 | 0% | 0 |
| Alaska | 25 | 2% | 0 |
| Alabama | 25 | 4% | 0 |
| Wyoming | 25 | 3% | 1 |
| Vermont | 22 | 2% | 3 |
| Wisconsin | 18 | 0% | 0 |
| Missouri | 16 | 1% | 1 |
| Nevada | 16 | 3% | 0 |
| Arizona | 14 | 1% | 1 |
| Massachusetts | 12 | 1% | 1 |
| Rhode Island | 10 | 2% | 0 |
| North Carolina | 7 | 0% | 1 |
| Washington | 7 | 0% | 1 |
| Maine | 6 | 0% | 0 |
| Minnesota | 6 | 0% | 2 |
| New Jersey | 6 | 0% | 2 |
| South Dakota | 3 | 0% | 0 |
| Virginia | 3 | 0% | 0 |
| North Dakota | 2 | 1% | 0 |
| New Mexico | 2 | 0% | 0 |
| Kentucky | 1 | 0% | 0 |
| New Hampshire | 1 | 0% | 0 |
| Ohio | 1 | 0% | 0 |
| Tennessee | 1 | 0% | 0 |
Largest water systems with a Carbofuran 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Denver Water Board Denver County |
1,287,000 | 3 | 0 | |
|
Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Auth Allegheny County |
520,000 | 3 | 0 | |
|
Gilbert, Town of Gilbert · Maricopa County |
247,600 | 9 | 1 | |
|
Corona, City of Corona · Riverside County |
169,380 | 6 | 0 | |
|
City of Sunnyvale Sunnyvale · Santa Clara County |
157,566 | 5 | 0 | |
|
Epcor Agua Fria Surprise · Maricopa County |
128,040 | 5 | 0 | |
|
Inima USA / Aquaria LLC Dighton · Bristol County |
105,643 | 1 | 0 | |
|
Lehi City Utah County |
93,446 | 2 | 0 | |
|
Aqua WSC Bastrop County |
86,325 | 5 | 1 | |
|
GW Santa Cruz Water CO Maricopa · Pinal County |
84,000 | 7 | 0 |
About this data
A system is counted once if any of its violations in the past three years involved Carbofuran, including monitoring and reporting lapses. Rules violated and status in the systems table are for the whole system, not Carbofuran 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.