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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
Phoenix has the better EPA record — grade A (91/100) vs grade A (90/100).
DENVER WATER BOARD · serves 1,287,000
PHOENIX CITY OF · serves 1,695,000
| Metric | Denver | Phoenix |
|---|---|---|
| Grade / score | A · 90/100 | A · 91/100 |
| Health-based EPA violations, last 5 yrs | 0 | 0 |
| Health-based violations unresolved | 0 | 0 |
| Monitoring / reporting violations, last 5 yrs | 34 | 2 |
| Lead 90th percentile (action level 15 ppb) | 3.1 ppb (2025–2025) | 2.7 ppb (2022–2024) |
| PFAS detected (UCMR5 2023–2026) | None detected | PFBA, PFBS |
| Primary water source | Surface water | Surface water |
| Population served | 1,287,000 | 1,695,000 |
| EPA PWSID | CO0116001 | AZ0407025 |
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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Phoenix — it scores 91/100 (grade A) against 90/100 (grade A) on EPA records. Neither system has a health-based EPA violation in the last five years
Denver grades A (90/100): no health-based EPA violations in the last five years, lead 90th percentile 3.1 ppb, no PFAS detected.
Phoenix grades A (91/100): no health-based EPA violations in the last five years, lead 90th percentile 2.7 ppb, PFAS detected (PFBA, PFBS).