Forever Chemicals
Maybe you're relocating a family into Maryland, weighing the Bay towns against the suburbs, and the water question crept up on you. Maybe you've just lived here long enough to want to know. This page takes a federal dataset and gives it local bearings. In Maryland, drinking water sits under the Department of the Environment (MDE) and its Water and Science Administration, the office running the public water supply program statewide. None of this rules on a single address. It's the statewide record, laid out so the figures in the cards become readable and genuinely worth reviewing when evaluating an address.
EPA's UCMR 5 program (2021–2024) tested 43 public water systems in Maryland for 29 PFAS compounds; 6 reported at least one detection and none exceeded the 2024 federal limit of 4 ppt for PFOA/PFOS (a 14% detection rate). Detections vary by water system — check the utility serving a specific Maryland address.
Maryland's environmental work runs through the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), whose Water and Science Administration oversees the state's public drinking-water program. On PFAS, Maryland largely aligns with the federal framework rather than setting a markedly stricter independent number, so residents are mainly covered by the limits MDE administers under the April 2024 federal rule, which fixes PFOA and PFOS at 4 parts per trillion. The posture is best read as federal-default, applied through an active state agency. What that means for you is straightforward: there's a named Maryland office standing behind the records below, not a federal abstraction.
Numbers below come straight from EPA UCMR 5 monitoring (2021–2024). Every public water system in Marylandserving more than 3,300 people had to test for 29 different PFAS — here's what they reported.
43
Water systems tested
UCMR 5 (2021–2024)
6
Systems with any PFAS detected
14% detection rate
0
Systems exceeding 2024 MCL
Above 4 ppt PFOA/PFOS
6
Distinct PFAS compounds detected
Of 29 monitored under UCMR 5
0
TRI-reporting PFAS facilities
EPA Toxics Release Inventory 2024
1
DoD PFAS installations
Military PFAS contamination sites
Red triangles are military installations the Department of Defense has flagged for PFAS from firefighting foam. Orange dots are industrial facilities that reported PFAS to the EPA Toxics Release Inventory. If your future home sits near a cluster, that's a conversation worth having with the seller or landlord.
These are the Marylandutilities 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| NEW LIFE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL | 2 | 0.01 | Below MCL |
| TOWN OF HAMPSTEAD | 6 | 0.01 | Below MCL |
| CITY OF TANEYTOWN | 3 | 0.01 | Below MCL |
| TOWN OF MOUNT AIRY | 3 | 0.01 | Below MCL |
| TOWN OF ELKTON | 3 | 0 | Below MCL |
| FREEDOM DISTRICT | 1 | 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 Maryland water systems. PFOA and PFOS are the two with the strictest federal limits (4 parts per trillion).
For decades the military trained with AFFF firefighting foam loaded with PFAS. It soaked into soil and groundwater and, in many places, traveled miles. If you're house-hunting near any of these Maryland installations, the address report will tell you exactly how close.
CHESAPEAKE BEACH MD RESLB
Navy
Looking at a specific Marylandcity? 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.
Read the picture with its boundaries in view. The federal UCMR5 program tested 29 PFAS compounds, but only at public water systems serving more than roughly 3,300 people, with sampling spread from 2021 to 2024. Maryland has its share of rural counties and private wells, especially on the Eastern Shore and in the west, that the program never required to test, so a quiet stretch of map is unconfirmed rather than clean. MDE offers guidance for private well owners worth seeking out if your water comes from your own ground. And a detection logged a few years back is a snapshot, not a live reading. The acronym pileup (UCMR, MCL) is its own minor saga; the question beneath it is simple.
Yes. EPA UCMR 5 monitoring (2021–2024) tested 43 public water systems in Maryland; 6 had at least one PFAS detection. Detections vary by water system — check your specific serving utility.
Maryland largely aligns with the federal framework, so residents are mainly covered by the limits the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) administers under the April 2024 federal rule, which sets PFOA and PFOS at 4 parts per trillion plus levels for PFHxS, PFNA, and GenX. Rather than a markedly stricter independent number, the protection here comes from the national standard, applied through MDE.
The Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), through its Water and Science Administration, oversees the state's public water supply program and tends to administer the federal PFAS standards, monitoring community water systems under the 2024 rule. MDE has also conducted PFAS sampling across systems statewide. Private wells generally fall outside that formal program, so the agency points well owners toward separate testing guidance.
MDE is the Maryland Department of the Environment, the state agency responsible for protecting Maryland's air, water, and land. On drinking water, its Water and Science Administration runs the public water supply program, including PFAS monitoring under the federal rule. If you came looking for the office that oversees Maryland's drinking water, MDE is the one.
Use VetMyAddress to see the PFAS detections reported for the public water system serving any Maryland 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