Trichloroethylene (TCE) in drinking water
1,960 active public water systems in 42 states had a Trichloroethylene (TCE) violation in the past three years, and 90 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 Trichloroethylene (TCE) and lists the water systems whose records include a related violation. It does not show measured levels.
Is Trichloroethylene (TCE) 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
Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a chlorinated solvent widely used for metal degreasing and as a chemical intermediate. It is one of the most common groundwater contaminants in the United States, found at hundreds of Superfund sites. TCE enters water through industrial discharge, improper solvent disposal, and leaking underground storage tanks. It is persistent in anoxic groundwater.
Health effects
TCE is classified by EPA as a known human carcinogen (Group A), associated primarily with kidney cancer and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. It is also linked to liver cancer and cervical cancer. Prenatal exposure is associated with cardiac defects. Workers at industrial facilities and residents near contaminated groundwater plumes face the greatest risk.
The standard and what a violation means
EPA limit: 0.005 mg/L (5 ppb).
Water systems with a Trichloroethylene (TCE) 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | 196 | 4% | 10 |
| Pennsylvania | 174 | 2% | 8 |
| Texas | 171 | 2% | 0 |
| Michigan | 165 | 1% | 4 |
| Alaska | 102 | 8% | 5 |
| Washington | 102 | 2% | 10 |
| Oregon | 87 | 3% | 3 |
| New Jersey | 77 | 2% | 5 |
| New York | 73 | 1% | 2 |
| Oklahoma | 71 | 5% | 0 |
| Colorado | 69 | 3% | 4 |
| Indiana | 66 | 2% | 3 |
| Idaho | 48 | 2% | 3 |
| Wisconsin | 45 | 0% | 5 |
| Connecticut | 42 | 2% | 4 |
| West Virginia | 42 | 5% | 3 |
| Montana | 40 | 2% | 0 |
| Missouri | 34 | 1% | 2 |
| Arizona | 33 | 2% | 3 |
| Virginia | 31 | 1% | 2 |
| Wyoming | 31 | 4% | 1 |
| Vermont | 30 | 2% | 3 |
| California | 29 | 0% | 2 |
| North Carolina | 27 | 1% | 1 |
| Nevada | 26 | 4% | 0 |
| Utah | 26 | 2% | 1 |
| Alabama | 18 | 3% | 0 |
| Maine | 18 | 1% | 0 |
| Iowa | 14 | 1% | 0 |
| Ohio | 14 | 0% | 1 |
| Massachusetts | 12 | 1% | 0 |
| Tennessee | 11 | 1% | 0 |
| Rhode Island | 9 | 2% | 1 |
| Minnesota | 7 | 0% | 1 |
| New Hampshire | 4 | 0% | 1 |
| New Mexico | 4 | 0% | 0 |
| Kansas | 3 | 0% | 0 |
| Mississippi | 3 | 0% | 1 |
| Maryland | 2 | 0% | 0 |
| South Dakota | 2 | 0% | 0 |
| Kentucky | 1 | 0% | 0 |
| North Dakota | 1 | 0% | 1 |
Largest water systems with a Trichloroethylene (TCE) 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Tucson City of Tucson · Pima County |
732,906 | 3 | 0 | |
|
Mesa City of Mesa · Maricopa County |
466,000 | 3 | 0 | |
|
Chandler City of Chandler · Maricopa County |
247,328 | 4 | 0 | |
|
Trenton Water Works Ewing Twp, Hamilton Twp, Hopewell Twp.1106- and 2 more · Mercer County |
217,000 | 8 | 2 | |
|
Corona, City of Corona · Riverside County |
169,380 | 6 | 0 | |
|
City of Sunnyvale Sunnyvale · Santa Clara County |
157,566 | 5 | 0 | |
|
Sandy City Water System Salt Lake County |
99,750 | 2 | 0 | |
|
Epcor San Tan Johnson Ranch · Pinal County |
87,435 | 3 | 0 | |
|
Flagstaff City of Flagstaff · Coconino County |
79,796 | 5 | 0 | |
|
East Orange Water Commission East Orange City · Essex County |
75,000 | 6 | 1 |
About this data
A system is counted once if any of its violations in the past three years involved Trichloroethylene (TCE), including monitoring and reporting lapses. Rules violated and status in the systems table are for the whole system, not Trichloroethylene (TCE) 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.