Portland, OR Water Quality Report
Is Portland tap water safe? See PFAS and lead contamination levels for Portland, Oregon. Compare to EPA limits and get filter recommendations.
Quick Answers
Is Portland, OR tap water safe to drink? Portland, OR public water systems are not reported as having detected PFAS in the most recent EPA UCMR5 testing cycle. Smaller systems may not be required to test, so private wells and older infrastructure still warrant caution.
What contaminants are in Portland, OR water? EPA UCMR5 tests 29 PFAS compounds plus 42+ regulated contaminants (lead, arsenic, nitrate, disinfection byproducts). The detailed table below shows every detection with comparison to EPA limits.
What filter should I use in Portland, OR? 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 Portland, an NSF-53 certified pitcher (Clearly Filtered, ZeroWater, LifeStraw) is a practical alternative. Ordinary Brita cartridges are not certified for PFAS.
Portland, OR Water Quality Summary
No PFAS detections have been reported for Portland, OR in the latest EPA UCMR5 cycle. Treat that as a snapshot rather than a verdict – testing in Oregon is ongoing, exempt smaller systems may be untested, and conditions vary block by block. Your ZIP code lookup shows the most specific data we have.
Contamination Level: NONE – No PFAS detected in recent testing.
Lead in Portland, OR Water
EPA Lead and Copper Rule testing has recorded 64 lead samples for Portland water systems, with a 90th-percentile high of 0.0359 mg/L (above 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 Portland, OR
Portland public water systems have 38 health-based EPA Safe Drinking Water Act violations on record, including Selenium, Surface Water Treatment Rule, Total Organic Carbon. 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 Portland, OR's approximately 652,503 residents.
ZIP Codes Served
Compare Portland, OR to Other Cities
Side-by-side PFAS contamination comparisons with same-state, regional, and national peers.
What Portland, Oregon Residents Should Do
- Enter your exact ZIP code at knowyourexposure.com for address-level data
- Install an NSF/ANSI 58 reverse osmosis filter (removes 94-99% of PFAS)
- If you're in a high-exposure group (pregnant, young children), consider a PFAS home test kit
- Review the Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) your Oregon utility publishes annually