Madison, WI Water Quality Report

Is Madison tap water safe? See PFAS and lead contamination levels for Madison, Wisconsin. Compare to EPA limits and get filter recommendations.

Quick Answers

Is Madison, WI tap water safe to drink? Madison, WI tap water meets most federal EPA limits, but PFAS compounds have been detected at an average of 0.02 ppt across 2 compounds. A certified pitcher filter or reverse osmosis system is recommended for sensitive populations.

What contaminants are in Madison, WI water? Top PFAS compounds detected in Madison water: PFBA (0.05 ppt), PFHxS (0.01 ppt). See the full table for all monitored contaminants and comparison to EPA limits.

What filter should I use in Madison, WI? An NSF/ANSI 58 reverse osmosis system is the strongest option, removing 90%+ of PFAS along with lead and arsenic. For renters or smaller households in Madison, an NSF-53 certified pitcher (Clearly Filtered, ZeroWater, LifeStraw) is a practical alternative. Ordinary Brita cartridges are not certified for PFAS.

Madison, WI Water Quality Summary

EPA testing has detected PFAS "forever chemicals" in Madison, WI drinking water. Recent monitoring found a peak level of 0.05 ppt across 1 water system, representing an average of 0.02 ppt across 2 detected compounds.

Contamination Level: LOW – Low contamination – PFAS detected but at lower levels; monitoring continues.

Top Detected Compounds

  • PFBA: 0.05 ppt
  • PFHxS: 0.01 ppt

Lead in Madison, WI Water

EPA Lead and Copper Rule testing has recorded 36 lead samples for Madison water systems, with a 90th-percentile high of 0.0085 mg/L (within the EPA 0.015 mg/L action level). There is no safe level of lead for children; if your home was built before 1986, a certified NSF/ANSI 53 lead-removal filter is recommended.

EPA Violations in Madison, WI

Madison public water systems have 10 health-based EPA Safe Drinking Water Act violations on record, including Surface Water Treatment Rule, Total Organic Carbon, Gross Beta. Health-based violations mean a contaminant exceeded its federal limit or required treatment was not applied.

About the Data

The numbers on this page are drawn from EPA UCMR5 monitoring (2023-2025), which covers 66,000+ public water systems nationwide, including those serving Madison, WI's approximately 269,840 residents.

ZIP Codes Served

53701, 53703, 53704, 53705, 53706

Compare Madison, WI to Other Cities

Side-by-side PFAS contamination comparisons with same-state, regional, and national peers.

What Madison, Wisconsin Residents Should Do

  1. Enter your exact ZIP code at knowyourexposure.com for address-level data
  2. Install an NSF/ANSI 58 reverse osmosis filter (removes 94-99% of PFAS)
  3. If you're in a high-exposure group (pregnant, young children), consider a PFAS home test kit
  4. Review the Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) your Wisconsin utility publishes annually