Forever Chemicals
Maybe you are a family relocating into Indiana for a new job and a new school district, and somewhere on the to-do list is a quiet question about the water. That question belongs there. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management oversees public drinking water statewide and administers the federal PFAS standards those systems are held to. What you see below is pulled from public monitoring records, not our judgment of them, and it will not tell you whether any one home is fine. Even so, the figures are worth reviewing when evaluating an address, and they point you toward IDEM, the state office that actually keeps watch on this.
EPA's UCMR 5 program (2021–2024) tested 48 public water systems in Indiana for 29 PFAS compounds; 10 reported at least one detection and none exceeded the 2024 federal limit of 4 ppt for PFOA/PFOS (a 21% detection rate). Detections vary by water system — check the utility serving a specific Indiana address.
In Indiana, drinking water is overseen by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) and its drinking-water program, which administers the federal standards public systems must meet. Indiana is among the states that largely rely on the federal limits the agency administers rather than adopting its own enforceable PFAS numbers, so the April 2024 EPA rule is what stands behind a Hoosier's tap. In practice the federal limits set the baseline here, with IDEM serving as the state office that runs testing, reporting, and any follow-up where PFAS is found.
Numbers below come straight from EPA UCMR 5 monitoring (2021–2024). Every public water system in Indianaserving more than 3,300 people had to test for 29 different PFAS — here's what they reported.
48
Water systems tested
UCMR 5 (2021–2024)
10
Systems with any PFAS detected
21% detection rate
0
Systems exceeding 2024 MCL
Above 4 ppt PFOA/PFOS
5
Distinct PFAS compounds detected
Of 29 monitored under UCMR 5
0
TRI-reporting PFAS facilities
EPA Toxics Release Inventory 2024
0
DoD PFAS installations
Military PFAS contamination sites
These are the Indianautilities where EPA testing found PFAS the most often or at the highest levels. Being on this list doesn't automatically mean today's tap water is unsafe — some systems have added treatment since these samples were taken — but it means a conversation with the utility is worth having before you move in.
| Water system | Detections | Max value (ng/L) | vs 2024 MCL |
|---|---|---|---|
| SOUTHWESTERN BARTHOLOMEW WATER CORP. | 4 | 0.01 | Below MCL |
| INDIANA AMERICAN WATER - CHARLESTOWN | 1 | 0.01 | Below MCL |
| MARYSVILLE OTISCO NABB WATER CORP. | 1 | 0.01 | Below MCL |
| COLUMBUS MUNICIPAL UTILITY | 3 | 0.01 | Below MCL |
| NEW HAVEN WATER DEPARTMENT | 2 | 0.01 | Below MCL |
| SOUTH PARK BUSINESS CENTER | 3 | 0.01 | Below MCL |
| LIPPERT COMPONENTS (PLANT #30) | 1 | 0.01 | Below MCL |
| WHITESTOWN SOUTH | 2 | 0 | Below MCL |
| FORT WAYNE - 3 RIVERS FILTRATION PLANT | 1 | 0 | Below MCL |
| INDIANA AMERICAN WATER - JOHNSON COUNTY | 2 | 0 | Below MCL |
PFAS isn't one chemical — it's a family of thousands. Here are the specific compounds EPA picked up most often across Indiana water systems. PFOA and PFOS are the two with the strictest federal limits (4 parts per trillion).
Looking at a specific Indianacity? Each page below pulls the same federal data narrowed to that water system — useful whether you're relocating, buying, organizing your neighborhood around getting cleaner water, or just trying to find out what's in the tap and what's around you.
Before leaning hard on the numbers below, understand their limits. The federal monitoring round (UCMR5) tested 29 PFAS compounds at public systems generally serving more than 3,300 people, across roughly 2021 to 2024. A reading from that window captures a moment, not the live state of today's tap, and the requirement never extended to private wells or many small rural systems. In rural Indiana that omission is meaningful, and where IDEM offers guidance on private-well testing, that is the office to ask. Read the figures above as a map of where monitoring occurred rather than a verdict on any single address. The pile of monitoring acronyms is its own small labyrinth, but the records beneath it are simply public documents meant to be read.
Yes. EPA UCMR 5 monitoring (2021–2024) tested 48 public water systems in Indiana; 10 had at least one PFAS detection. Detections vary by water system — check your specific serving utility.
Indiana is among the states that largely rely on the federal limits its environmental agency administers rather than setting its own enforceable PFAS numbers. Residents on public systems are covered by the April 2024 federal rule, which the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) carries out.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM), through its drinking-water program, administers federal drinking-water standards for public systems, including EPA's April 2024 PFAS limits. The agency tends to act as the state administrator of those federal rules rather than the author of separate state PFAS standards.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) is the state's environmental agency. Its drinking-water program oversees public water systems and administers the federal standards that Indiana tap water is measured against.
Use VetMyAddress to see the PFAS detections reported for the public water system serving any Indiana address, alongside nearby military bases and industrial PFAS sources. The data comes from EPA UCMR 5, EPA TRI, and the DoD PFAS installation report.
In April 2024 the EPA set the first enforceable federal limits for PFAS in drinking water: 4 parts per trillion for PFOA and PFOS, and 10 ppt each for PFHxS, PFNA, and HFPO-DA (GenX), plus a Hazard Index for certain mixtures. Public water systems must complete initial monitoring by 2027 and come into compliance after that.
No. The federal limits apply to public water systems. Private well owners are responsible for their own testing and treatment, which is especially worth doing near a known PFAS source like a military base or industrial site.
State numbers tell you the pattern. An address report tells you what's actually in the water at yourkitchen sink — the matched utility, the PFAS detections on file, and every military or industrial source nearby. Whether it's for your family, your neighbors, or peace of mind.
Data sources: EPA UCMR 5 bulk data · EPA TRI 2024 · DoD PFAS installation report