Di(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate in drinking water
1,357 active public water systems in 40 states had a Di(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate violation in the past three years, and 77 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 Di(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate and lists the water systems whose records include a related violation. It does not show measured levels.
Is Di(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate 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
Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is the most widely used plasticizer in PVC products including pipes, flooring, medical tubing, and food packaging. It enters drinking water through discharge from rubber and chemical factories and leaching from PVC water distribution materials. It is one of the more commonly detected phthalates in US drinking water.
Health effects
Chronic exposure to DEHP is associated with reproductive and developmental toxicity — it acts as an endocrine disruptor and can interfere with hormone signaling. EPA classifies it as a probable human carcinogen (Group B2) based on animal liver tumor data. Developing fetuses, infants, and reproductive-age adults are most susceptible to its hormonal effects.
The standard and what a violation means
EPA limit: 0.006 mg/L (6 ppb).
Water systems with a Di(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate 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 | 243 | 3% | 10 |
| New York | 120 | 1% | 1 |
| Texas | 117 | 2% | 1 |
| Oklahoma | 96 | 7% | 0 |
| Oregon | 87 | 3% | 3 |
| Illinois | 68 | 1% | 12 |
| Colorado | 49 | 2% | 5 |
| Washington | 46 | 1% | 8 |
| Connecticut | 41 | 2% | 2 |
| Idaho | 39 | 2% | 4 |
| Montana | 39 | 2% | 1 |
| West Virginia | 33 | 4% | 5 |
| Indiana | 30 | 1% | 2 |
| Michigan | 29 | 0% | 1 |
| Utah | 29 | 3% | 1 |
| Alabama | 27 | 5% | 0 |
| Wyoming | 26 | 3% | 2 |
| Alaska | 25 | 2% | 0 |
| California | 25 | 0% | 1 |
| Vermont | 22 | 2% | 3 |
| Arizona | 20 | 1% | 2 |
| Iowa | 19 | 1% | 0 |
| Nevada | 19 | 3% | 0 |
| Wisconsin | 17 | 0% | 3 |
| North Carolina | 15 | 0% | 1 |
| Massachusetts | 14 | 1% | 1 |
| Rhode Island | 14 | 3% | 2 |
| Maine | 11 | 1% | 0 |
| Minnesota | 8 | 0% | 2 |
| New Jersey | 7 | 0% | 3 |
| New Hampshire | 6 | 0% | 0 |
| Maryland | 3 | 0% | 1 |
| South Dakota | 3 | 0% | 0 |
| Kentucky | 2 | 0% | 0 |
| North Dakota | 2 | 1% | 0 |
| New Mexico | 2 | 0% | 0 |
| Florida | 1 | 0% | 0 |
| Nebraska | 1 | 0% | 0 |
| Ohio | 1 | 0% | 0 |
| Tennessee | 1 | 0% | 0 |
Largest water systems with a Di(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate 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 | |
|
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 | |
|
Naperville Naperville · DuPage County |
156,406 | 1 | 0 | |
|
Epcor Agua Fria Surprise · Maricopa County |
128,040 | 5 | 0 | |
|
Pasco Water Department Franklin County |
115,102 | 2 | 0 | |
|
Inima USA / Aquaria LLC Dighton · Bristol County |
105,643 | 1 | 0 | |
|
Lehi City Utah County |
93,446 | 2 | 0 | |
|
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 Di(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate, including monitoring and reporting lapses. Rules violated and status in the systems table are for the whole system, not Di(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate 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.