Myth
My water company is responsible for the water in my home.
Fact
Its responsibility typically ends at the meter. The pipes, water heater and fixtures on your side belong to the property owner.
SafeTap® Resident Support
Sponsored by Puronics · No purchase required
Your tap. Your standard.
Your water system is responsible up to your meter. Past it, you are.
A no-cost Home Water Review takes 15 minutes.
- Your utility’s most recent water report: pulled and reviewed
- Results compared to the EPA’s legal limits and its health goals
- Your review: sponsored in full. Nothing to pay.
Text REVIEW to (424) 498-SAFE, or call. · See where we serve
The EPA sets two numbers
For most contaminants, the EPA publishes an enforceable legal limit — and a health goal, the level with no known or expected health risk. They’re rarely the same number.
Arsenic · Legal limit10 ppbWhat’s allowed
Arsenic · EPA health goalZeroWhat’s considered safe
Same agency. Same contaminant. Two different answers.
See what your report detected
Legal limit: EPA maximum contaminant level (MCL). Health goal: EPA maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG), which is not enforceable.
Four concerns in public water reports nationwide
Your standard
Legal limit vs. health goal
The EPA’s two numbers for arsenic, lead, PFAS and nitrate.
Compare →Your report
See what yours detected
Enter your ZIP to find your utility’s published results.
Look it up →The review
15 minutes at your table
Your report explained, your water tested, a plan you keep.
How it works →Daily water
One home, three waters
Filtered, drinking and raw — and what each should meet.
See the diagram →Where we serve
State by state
Where reviews are open now, and where SafeTap is expanding.
Find your state →Partners
Who’s behind it
Puronics sponsors. Licensed local contractors install.
Meet them →Your tap water is your responsibility. Making sure it meets your standard is ours.
Get my free reviewThe public water system
Responsible up to your meter. Past it, you are.
Follow the water from its source to your glass.
Myth or fact
What most homeowners assume.
Myth
My utility tests the water that comes out of my tap.
Fact
Routine testing happens at treatment plants and sampling points across the system. Apart from lead-and-copper sampling at a small set of homes, your tap isn’t one of them.
Myth
If my water meets legal limits, it meets health goals.
Fact
Arsenic’s legal limit is 10 ppb. The EPA’s own health goal for arsenic is zero. A utility can pass the first without meeting the second.
Myth
If something were wrong, I’d have been told.
Fact
Utilities must notify you when a legal limit is violated — not when results sit above a health goal, and never about your own plumbing.
Myth
The annual water report is about my home.
Fact
It covers the whole system for the previous year. It can’t show what your pipes, heater or fixtures add.
Myth
Boiling my water makes it safe.
Fact
Boiling kills bacteria. It doesn’t remove nitrate, arsenic or chromium-6 — as water evaporates, it concentrates them.
Nobody is assigned to your side of the meter. That’s why SafeTap exists.
Get my free reviewYour standard
Legal is the utility’s standard. Is it yours?
For most contaminants the EPA sets two numbers: the legal limit your utility must meet, and a health goal — the level with no known or expected risk to health. The goal isn’t enforceable. It’s often zero.
Zero.
The EPA’s health goal for arsenic, lead, PFOA and PFOS.
Source: EPA maximum contaminant level goals (MCLGs). Utilities are held to the legal limit, not the goal.
Your kitchen already shows your standard.
- Bottled water in the garage — paying for water twice.
- A fridge or pitcher filter — a partial fix at one tap.
- Spots, scale, dry skin — hardness is legal at any level. Nobody wants it.
| Contaminant | EPA legal limit | EPA health goal | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| ArsenicNaturally occurring in groundwater. | 10 ppb | 0 | Goal is zero |
| LeadFrom service lines, solder and fixtures. | 15 ppbaction level; 10 ppb from Nov. 2027 | 0 | Goal is zero |
| PFOA & PFOS“Forever chemicals.” | 4 ppt eachcompliance by 2029; 2031 extension proposed | 0 | Goal is zero |
| NitrateFertilizer and runoff. Boiling doesn’t remove it. | 10 ppm | 10 ppm | Same bar |
| Chromium-6Naturally occurring and industrial. | Nonefederal; total chromium 100 ppb | — | States decide |
Legal limits move slowly · Chromium-6
20110.02 ppbCalifornia sets a health goal
202410 ppbCalifornia’s first legal limit, 13 years later
TodayNoneFederal limit for chromium-6
Some states set stricter limits than the EPA. Most haven’t.
“Legal limits for contaminants in tap water have not been updated in almost 20 years.”— Environmental Working Group, Tap Water Database
Legal limits: EPA maximum contaminant levels under the Safe Drinking Water Act (lead: action level under the Lead and Copper Rule; the 2024 Lead and Copper Rule Improvements lower it to 10 ppb from November 2027). PFOA and PFOS limits were finalized in 2024; a 2026 EPA proposal would let systems request until 2031 to comply. Health goals: EPA maximum contaminant level goals. State limits may be stricter. Your utility’s own results are in its annual Consumer Confidence Report — look yours up.
Your report
See what your local water report detected.
Every community water system in the country publishes an annual Consumer Confidence Report. Enter your ZIP code and we’ll point you to yours.
Links open EWG’s Tap Water Database, the EPA’s report guidance, or your utility directly. SafeTap is not affiliated with EWG or the EPA.
Know your water
What you get in 15 minutes.
Your utility’s report is pulled before your advisor arrives, so the time at your kitchen table is about your water — not paperwork.
Conducted in your home by a SafeTap Resident Support team.
Your Water Care Advisor wears the SafeTap mark and a numbered badge. If it isn’t on the badge, it isn’t a SafeTap review. Questions? Call 424-498-SAFE.
Your utility’s report, explained
Pulled ahead of time, in plain language — against legal limits and health guidelines.
Your Water Improvement Plan
Written for your home, at your kitchen table, after a quick test at your tap.
Options that fit your budget
If you want to act on it — including financing for qualified buyers.
No purchase requiredThe review and the plan are yours either way.
Already have a system?It gets reviewed against the same standard.
Nothing to payYour review is sponsored in full by Puronics.
Water for daily use
One home. Three kinds of water.
Not every tap needs the same water. Your review looks at the three ways a household actually uses it — and what each one should meet.
-
Filtered waterFor inside use — washing clothes, showers and bathrooms. Where hardness and chlorine show up on skin, hair, glass and appliances.
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Drinking waterFor cooking and drinking — the kitchen sink and the fridge. The glass you hold to the health-goal standard, not just the legal one.
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Raw waterFor outside use — watering the lawn, washing the car. No reason to treat water that goes on the grass.
Where we serve
Every state has public water systems. We’re growing state by state.
Federal standards apply everywhere. Some states go further. Reviews open where a licensed local contractor is in place to stand behind the work.
California
Reviews openSouthern California — Huntington Beach to Palm Springs, the Inland Empire, and Murrieta down to San Diego.
- Contractor
- AmeriTek Industries · CA 870501
- State goals
- California sets its own public health goals, including chromium-6
Nevada
By requestLicensed contractor in place. Request a review and we’ll confirm availability at your address.
- Contractor
- AmeriTek Industries · NV 0073216
Texas
By requestLicensed contractor in place. Request a review and we’ll confirm availability at your address.
- Contractor
- AmeriTek Industries · TX WT0007493
Florida
ExpandingNot yet scheduling. Leave your details and we’ll reach out when reviews open near you.
- Contractor
- Being confirmed
Don’t see your state? Your report is still public. Look it up now — and tell us where you are.
Look up my reportLicensed partners
The companies behind every review.
SafeTap is an independent resident outreach program. Reviews are sponsored by Puronics. These are the companies behind them — and what each one is responsible for.
AmeriTekIndustries
Contractor of record
Licensed contractor responsible for installation, service and warranty on any work a resident chooses to have done. Authorized Independent Dealer of Puronics.
- Licensed in
- California CA 870501 · Nevada NV 0073216 · Texas TX WT0007493
- BBB
- Accredited · A+ · view profile
- Service
- 888-907-9777
PuronicsWater Products
Manufacturer · Review sponsor
Sponsors every SafeTap review in full. Manufacturer of the residential water treatment systems offered through the program, building treatment equipment since 1947.
- Since
- 1947
- Warranty
- Limited lifetime warranty on the water conditioner system
American Ionics
Water Care® field team · California
The Water Care Advisors who run SafeTap Resident Support in Southern California — they review your home’s water and build your Water Improvement Plan.
- Program
- SafeTap California Resident Support
- Web
- americanionicsinc.com
Additional resources
How water affects the rest of your home.
Not part of the review. Useful background if you’re planning repairs, remodeling or buying a home.
Water heaters
Hard water leaves scale in tank heaters, which reduces efficiency and shortens their life. Tankless heaters hold no standing water but still need descaling where water is hard.
Supply pipes
Older galvanized lines can corrode from the inside. Copper and PEX are the common modern replacements. If your home predates the late 1980s, ask about solder and fixtures too.
Drain lines
Cast-iron drains can corrode and let roots in over time. ABS or PVC are the usual replacements.
Fixtures & appliances
Scale builds up in showerheads, faucets, dishwashers and washing machines. High-efficiency fixtures lower water use; softened water helps them last.
Water pressure
Street pressure above about 80 psi strains pipes and appliances. A pressure regulator valve at the main keeps it in range.
Leak detection
Smart leak detectors shut off or alert on a leak before it becomes water damage. Some insurers offer discounts for them.
Resident support is open
Your review is already sponsored by Puronics.
Text REVIEW to (424) 498-SAFEOr call. We’ll find a time that works for you.
- Cost to you
- None — sponsored in full by Puronics
- Where
- Open in Southern California · by request in Nevada and Texas · see all states
- Hours
- 10 AM – 8:30 PM
- Takes
- 15 minutes, at your kitchen table
You’re on the schedule.
A Water Care Advisor will confirm your time by text or call. Questions: 424-498-SAFE.