Gainesville, FL Tap Water Quality Report
Last updated November 2026. Here is what testing has found in Gainesville, Florida tap water, compared with health-based goals (not just the legal limits, which can be much higher). Your exact address may be served by a different system, so check your ZIP code free.
The contaminants furthest above health goals in Gainesville tap water are Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), Arsenic and Haloacetic acids (HAA9).
What these contaminants are
- Total trihalomethanes (TTHM): Disinfection byproducts that form when chlorine reacts with organic matter. Long-term exposure is linked to bladder cancer and liver and kidney effects.
- Arsenic: A naturally occurring metal. Long-term exposure is linked to skin, bladder and lung cancer.
- Haloacetic acids (HAA9): The full group of nine haloacetic acids, including brominated ones EPA doesn't regulate yet.
Gainesville Regional Utilities (Murphree plant)
Serves about 195,768 people from groundwater (Floridan Aquifer). Public water system ID FL2010946.
16 contaminants detected in recent testing, 7 of them above the health-based goals we compare against.
| Contaminant | Average detected | Health goal | Times the goal | Legal limit | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) | 44.5 ppb | 1.00 ppb | 45× | 80.0 ppb | 2019 |
| Arsenic | 0.167 ppb | 0.004 ppb | 42× | 10.0 ppb | 2017 |
| Haloacetic acids (HAA9) | 16.2 ppb | 1.00 ppb | 16× | none | 2020 |
| Haloacetic acids (HAA5) | 9.39 ppb | 1.00 ppb | 9.4× | 60.0 ppb | 2019 |
| Chromium-6 | 0.142 ppb | 0.02 ppb | 7.1× | 10.0 ppb | 2013 |
| Cadmium | 0.167 ppb | 0.04 ppb | 4.2× | 5.00 ppb | 2017 |
| Thallium | 0.167 ppb | 0.1 ppb | 1.7× | 2.00 ppb | 2017 |
| Fluoride | 569 ppb | 1,000 ppb | below | 4,000 ppb | 2017 |
| Strontium | 496 ppb | 1,500 ppb | below | none | 2013 |
| Antimony | 0.167 ppb | 1.00 ppb | below | 6.00 ppb | 2017 |
| Chlorate | 12.3 ppb | 210 ppb | below | none | 2013 |
| Mercury | 0.0333 ppb | 1.20 ppb | below | 2.00 ppb | 2017 |
| Nitrate | 59.2 ppb | 10,000 ppb | below | 10,000 ppb | 2019 |
| Selenium | 0.167 ppb | 30.0 ppb | below | 50.0 ppb | 2017 |
| Barium | 8.27 ppb | 2,000 ppb | below | 2,000 ppb | 2017 |
| Nitrite | 2.78 ppb | 1,000 ppb | below | 1,000 ppb | 2019 |
Tested and not detected: Atrazine, Benzene, Carbon tetrachloride, DBCP, 1,2-Dichloroethane, 1,4-Dioxane, Ethylene dibromide (EDB), Manganese, Tetrachloroethylene (PCE), Trichloroethylene (TCE), 1,2,3-Trichloropropane, Vinyl chloride.
How to filter Gainesville tap water
- Chlorine and its byproducts in the shower: a 15-stage filtered shower head or universal shower filter is designed to reduce chlorine and chlorine odor where hot water turns it into steam.
- Drinking and cooking water: the 8L stainless steel gravity filter uses carbon filters, needs no plumbing or electricity, and keeps working through Florida storm outages.
- Fluoride: add post-treat fluoride filters to the gravity system.
Run the free tap water check for your ZIP code →
About this data
Results come from testing and annual water quality reports that utilities file with the EPA and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, compiled in our free water check. Health goals are the stricter of EPA health goals or California public health goals; legal limits are EPA maximum contaminant levels or action levels. Water quality can change between the treatment plant and your home, so these figures are a guide, not a test of your own tap.
Denali Spring is a small water filter company based in Vero Beach, Florida. See all Florida city water reports.