Map Shows Which States Have Worst Drinking Water

New York had significantly more dangerous drinking water than any other state, between 2019 and 2023, a Newsweek map shows.

More than 50 percent of residents in the Empire State drank from public water systems (PWS) that committed health-based violations during that period, according to data from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

These health-based violations include water that contains Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), otherwise known as “forever chemicals,” which can lead to cancers, ulcerative colitis, and other serious health conditions such as hormone disruption, and impaired immune systems.

PFAS were originally chemicals invented for home products such as nonstick pans, water resistant fabrics, and firefighting foams. However, given their “forever” nature, they cannot breakdown naturally in the environment, and have seeped into the water supply where they can lead to serious health complications.

Kate Donovan, Senior Attorney and Northeast Director for Environmental Health at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), told Newsweek: “Toxic PFAS chemicals enter drinking water and state waterways through a variety of pathways. PFAS enter our environment through upstream discharges, use, and disposal.

“For example, industrial discharges into surface or wastewater systems; industrial air emissions that deposit PFAS into water and soils; incineration of PFAS laden products; contaminated landfill leachate that seeps into groundwaters; spreading of contaminated sewage sludge on agricultural lands; and runoff of firefighting foam.”

“Forever chemicals are a big problem across the U.S. and New York is no different. Hoosick Falls was the first community in New York to sound the alarm bells of PFAS water contamination over nine years ago,” said Donovan, who held a hearing in New York State last month on PFAS.

“Since that time countless communities across New York have faced drinking water contaminated with toxic PFAS chemicals. We know about 50 percent of New York’s public water systems are tainted with PFAS contamination, and about 250 public water systems have exceeded the state’s PFOA and PFOS drinking water standards or maximum contaminant levels (MCLs).

“In addition, 2 million New Yorkers who receive drinking water through private wells are still in the dark of what is in their drinking water.”

Donovan also spoke about how lead in water is a compounding issue in New Yorkers’ drinking water, explaining that New York has some of the oldest pipes in the country with “at least 494,000 lead service lines.”

Syracuse, which has high levels of lead in its water, now has an interactive map for residents to locate lead service pipes in their area.

To protect all Americans from lead and forever chemicals, Donovan stressed: “Lawmakers must address turning off the tap for PFAS. The continued use of PFAS in industrial and product manufacturing only frustrates any real progress in addressing contaminated drinking water. And once these substances enter our environment, they are extremely difficult to contain, clean up, and pose real challenges on how to dispose of the chemicals once they are captured.”

New York has made strides toward these goals recently, passing a law that, as of December 31 2024, “prohibits the sale of carpets containing perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances.”

Another New York law passed in 2019: “Requires manufacturers of children’s products containing dangerous chemicals to notify the state and retailers; bans the sale of children’s products containing dangerous chemicals.”

The New York State Department of Health told Newsweek in a statement: “New York State is committed to having the safest drinking water possible which includes reducing exposures to lead and chemicals like PFAS. New York State became one of the first states to set its own health-based, feasible and enforceable standards for PFOA and PFOS.

“These standards have allowed the Department to develop a highly successful drinking water regulatory program to identify public water systems with elevated PFOA and PFOS and take action to reduce these levels to limit exposure and prevent health risks, making New York’s drinking water standards for emerging contaminants among the most protective in the country.

“New York State also continues to be a leader in eliminating lead in drinking water by providing tools, technical assistance and financial support for public water systems to inventory and replace lead service lines.”

The best public drinking water in the U.S. is in North Dakota, where only 0.5 percent of the population drank from contaminated PWS between 2019 and 2023.

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Update 12/13/2024 11 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from the New York State Department of Health