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Not health advice. Contact your local water utility for concerns.
Data from EPA Water Quality Reports. For official information, contact your water utility or health department.
Side-by-side EPA records for the two public water systems · EPA SDWIS/ECHO 2026Q2 · UCMR5 (2023–2026, July 2026 release) · SYR4 six-year review 2012–2019 · methodology
Detroit has the better EPA record — grade A (97/100) vs grade B (88/100).
CHICAGO · serves 2,721,308
DETROIT CITY OF · serves 633,218
| Metric | Chicago | Detroit |
|---|---|---|
| Grade / score | B · 88/100 | A · 97/100 |
| Health-based EPA violations, last 5 yrs | 0 | 0 |
| Health-based violations unresolved | 0 | 0 |
| Monitoring / reporting violations, last 5 yrs | 9 | 0 |
| Lead 90th percentile (action level 15 ppb) | 7 ppb (2026–2026) | 7.5 ppb (2025–2025) |
| PFAS detected (UCMR5 2023–2026) | None detected | None detected |
| Primary water source | Surface water | Purchased surface water |
| Population served | 2,721,308 | 633,218 |
| EPA PWSID | IL0316000 | MI0001800 |
Green = the better value where the two systems differ. Lead and PFAS figures describe water leaving the plant, not any individual tap.
Water with a clean EPA record still benefits from a carbon filter for chlorine, taste and odor.
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Detroit — it scores 97/100 (grade A) against 88/100 (grade B) on EPA records. Neither system has a health-based EPA violation in the last five years
Chicago grades B (88/100): no health-based EPA violations in the last five years, lead 90th percentile 7 ppb, no PFAS detected.
Detroit grades A (97/100): no health-based EPA violations in the last five years, lead 90th percentile 7.5 ppb, no PFAS detected.