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PHOENIX CITY OF vs TUCSON CITY OF

Water quality comparison — risk levels, violations, PFAS records, and contaminants

Quick Answer

Both utilities share the same risk level (safe). PHOENIX CITY OF has 0 open health-based violations and 1512 PFAS records. TUCSON CITY OF has 0 open health-based violations and 4723 PFAS records.

PHOENIX CITY OF

Arizona · AZ0407025

Overall Risk Level

No Concerns Detected

No Concern
Low
Moderate
High
Critical

Water meets all safety standards with no detected exceedances.

0

Open violations

1512

PFAS records

TUCSON CITY OF

Arizona · AZ0410112

Overall Risk Level

No Concerns Detected

No Concern
Low
Moderate
High
Critical

Water meets all safety standards with no detected exceedances.

0

Open violations

4723

PFAS records

Head-to-Head Comparison

MetricPHOENIX CITY OFTUCSON CITY OF
StateArizonaArizona
Risk LevelNo Concerns DetectedNo Concerns Detected
Population Served1,695,000732,906
Open Health Violations00
Total Violations695
PFAS Records15124723
OwnershipLocalLocal
Service TypeSurface waterGroundwater
City ServedPhoenixTucson

Contaminants in Violation Records

PHOENIX CITY OF

  • Total Coliform
  • Cryptosporidium
  • Coliform (TCR)

TUCSON CITY OF

  • Nitrate
  • Lead
  • Arsenic
  • Cadmium
  • Barium
  • Fluoride

Key Differences

PHOENIX CITY OF has 1512 PFAS records vs. 4723 for TUCSON CITY OF.

What Should I Do?

If either utility shows open violations or elevated PFAS records, consider:

  • Installing a reverse osmosis filter — removes PFAS, lead, arsenic, nitrates, and most heavy metals.
  • Requesting your utility’s annual Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) for the most current test results.
  • Ordering a certified lab water test if you want contaminant-specific data for your address.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is safer — PHOENIX CITY OF or TUCSON CITY OF?

Both utilities share the same risk level (safe). Both utilities have similar violation profiles — review the full data above to decide based on specific contaminants that concern you.

What does "open health-based violation" mean?

An open health-based violation means a water system has exceeded an EPA Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) or failed to meet a treatment technique — and the violation has not yet been resolved. These are the most serious type of water quality violations.

How current is this data?

Violation data comes from EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), which is updated as utilities report. PFAS data comes from EPA's UCMR 5 monitoring (2023–2025). Risk levels are recalculated daily.

What does PWSID mean?

PWSID stands for Public Water System ID — a unique federal identifier assigned to each community water system. You can use it to look up a system in EPA's ECHO database.

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