Quick Drips

A compliant utility report and a contamination map can both be right about the same water. Here is the difference between an enforceable legal limit and a non-enforceable health goal, and which column to read first.

A study published on October 23 argues that counting below-limit PFAS results as zero understates national occurrence by about half. Here is what the reporting limit behind an ND actually is, and what to ask your utility.

A new national report put PFAS back in the headlines and filter shopping back on the to-do list. Here is what reverse osmosis removes, what a carbon pitcher does not, and how to choose using your own water report.

Researchers found an ultra-short-chain PFAS called TFA in 64 of 70 New Jersey tap water samples. Here is what the study shows, what is regulated, and the honest limit of what a pitcher filter can do.

Pennsylvania told anglers not to eat fish from the Wissahickon Creek basin after PFOS turned up in fish tissue. That is a watershed finding, not a tap water result. Here is how to tell the two apart and find your own system's numbers.

In a system meeting federal standards, tap water is generally considered safe to drink. The qualifiers are local, and lead and nitrate are the two worth a deliberate look during pregnancy.

Two Midwest utilities sent notices days apart this month: a 24 hour boil water advisory in Kalamazoo and a 30 day PFAS notice in Pewaukee. The tier on a drinking water notice tells you how fast to act, and where a filter fits.