Toxaphene in drinking water
1,176 active public water systems in 37 states had a Toxaphene violation in the past three years, and 56 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 Toxaphene and lists the water systems whose records include a related violation. It does not show measured levels.
Is Toxaphene 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
Toxaphene was a complex mixture of chlorinated camphenes used extensively as an insecticide on cotton and other crops in the southern United States. It was banned in 1990. Toxaphene is persistent in soil and sediment and can enter surface water through runoff from historically treated agricultural land, particularly in the South.
Health effects
Chronic toxaphene exposure is associated with liver and kidney damage and effects on the immune and nervous systems. EPA classifies it as a probable human carcinogen (Group B2). Children and those with compromised liver or kidney function face greater risk from chronic exposure.
The standard and what a violation means
EPA limit: 0.003 mg/L (3 ppb).
Water systems with a Toxaphene 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 | 187 | 2% | 8 |
| New York | 120 | 1% | 1 |
| Texas | 115 | 2% | 0 |
| Oklahoma | 96 | 7% | 0 |
| Oregon | 73 | 3% | 3 |
| Illinois | 54 | 1% | 9 |
| Washington | 44 | 1% | 8 |
| Colorado | 38 | 2% | 4 |
| Idaho | 37 | 2% | 3 |
| Montana | 37 | 2% | 1 |
| Connecticut | 32 | 1% | 1 |
| Michigan | 29 | 0% | 1 |
| Utah | 29 | 3% | 1 |
| Indiana | 27 | 1% | 2 |
| California | 26 | 0% | 1 |
| Alaska | 25 | 2% | 0 |
| Alabama | 25 | 4% | 0 |
| Wyoming | 24 | 3% | 1 |
| Vermont | 22 | 2% | 3 |
| Wisconsin | 18 | 0% | 0 |
| Missouri | 16 | 1% | 1 |
| Nevada | 16 | 3% | 0 |
| Arizona | 13 | 1% | 1 |
| North Carolina | 13 | 0% | 1 |
| Massachusetts | 12 | 1% | 1 |
| Rhode Island | 9 | 2% | 0 |
| Maine | 8 | 0% | 0 |
| New Jersey | 8 | 0% | 2 |
| Minnesota | 7 | 0% | 2 |
| Maryland | 3 | 0% | 1 |
| 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 |
| South Carolina | 1 | 0% | 0 |
Largest water systems with a Toxaphene 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 | |
|
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 |
About this data
A system is counted once if any of its violations in the past three years involved Toxaphene, including monitoring and reporting lapses. Rules violated and status in the systems table are for the whole system, not Toxaphene 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.