Water Quality
Most people in Maricopa County receive their drinking water from large municipal or public utility water delivery
systems. The Drinking Water Program works to ensure that the water delivered by these Public Water Systems is clean
and healthy and meets the standards prescribed by federal and state agencies.
Water in Maricopa County is obtained from three primary sources:
Surface water from the Salt River Project or Central Arizona Project is treated by water treatment plants. Ground
water is pumped from aquifers by wells. Drinking water produced by these water treatment plants or wells is delivered
by the operator of Public Water Systems to the public.
Water quality requirements for drinking water are written by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency(EPA). These requirements are incorporated by the EPA into the Safe Drinking Water
Act. The Drinking Water Program regulates Public Water Systems to ensure that they meet the requirements of
the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Privately Owned Domestic Wells
Although most of the population in Maricopa County is served by a Public Water System, some people located in isolated
or unincorporated areas of the County depend on
privately owned domestic wells. The Drinking Water Program does not have the authority to regulate or monitor these
wells. The owner of the well is responsible for ensuring the safety of the well and should take special precautions to
ensure the protection and maintenance of their drinking water system. The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) has
created the Private Drinking Water Wells
web page to assist owners of privately owned domestic wells in determining if their well’s water is safe.
Owners of privately owned domestic wells may contract with private companies for independent water testing. For the
most up to date information regarding testers currently certified by the Arizona Department of Health Services(ADHS)
please contact ADHS at (602) 364-0724, or go to the ADHS’s
Arizona Certified Commercial Drinking Water Laboratories web page.
Consumer Confidence Reports
Most Public Water Systems in Maricopa County are required to provide customers an annual document known as a Consumer
Confidence Report(CCR). This report is made available in July of each year and contains information and data on water
quality for the previous year. For links to water systems that maintain water quality information on line please refer
to the Water Quality/Consumer Confidence Reports section on the Resources page.
The CCR gives customers a written summary of the compliance sampling in the past year and information on any violations
that may have occurred. Most consumer questions regarding water quality will be answered in this report. For questions
or concerns not addressed by the CCR contact your water system directly.
Not all water systems in Maricopa County are required to produce a Consumer Confidence report. Please contact your
local water provider if your particular water system is not listed above or you wish to obtain a hard copy of the
Consumer Confidence report. The Drinking Water Program does not have copies of Consumer Confidence Reports for
distribution to the public.
If you are responsible for preparing the CCR for a Public Water System please refer to the Environmental Protection
Agency’s Consumer Confidence Reports page or the EPA’s
Consumer Confidence Reports Writer Software page for information and assistance.