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TUALATIN VALLEY WATER DISTRICT vs PORTLAND WATER BUREAU

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

Quick Answer

Both utilities share the same risk level (safe). TUALATIN VALLEY WATER DISTRICT has 0 open health-based violations and 290 PFAS records. PORTLAND WATER BUREAU has 1 open health-based violation and 174 PFAS records.

Overall Risk Level

No Concerns Detected

No Concern
Low
Moderate
High
Critical

Water meets all safety standards with no detected exceedances.

0

Open violations

290

PFAS records

PORTLAND WATER BUREAU

Oregon · OR4100657

Overall Risk Level

No Concerns Detected

No Concern
Low
Moderate
High
Critical

Water meets all safety standards with no detected exceedances.

1

Open violations

174

PFAS records

Head-to-Head Comparison

MetricTUALATIN VALLEY WATER DISTRICTPORTLAND WATER BUREAU
StateOregonOregon
Risk LevelNo Concerns DetectedNo Concerns Detected
Population Served224,600666,200
Open Health Violations01
Total Violations12
PFAS Records290174
OwnershipLocalLocal
Service TypeSurface waterSurface water
City Served

Contaminants in Violation Records

TUALATIN VALLEY WATER DISTRICT

  • E. coli

PORTLAND WATER BUREAU

  • Coliform (TCR)

Key Differences

TUALATIN VALLEY WATER DISTRICT has 0 open health-based violations vs. 1 for PORTLAND WATER BUREAU.

TUALATIN VALLEY WATER DISTRICT has 290 PFAS records vs. 174 for PORTLAND WATER BUREAU.

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 — TUALATIN VALLEY WATER DISTRICT or PORTLAND WATER BUREAU?

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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