A recent press release by the Environmental Working Group reported that hexavalent chromium (also called Chromium 6) was detected by many drinking water supplies across the US. It is currently only regulated in California which issued an Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) of 10 parts per billion (PPB) in 2014.
MWRA has performed testing under the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR), and the average of the detections was 0.04 parts per billion, with the range from non-detect to 0.13 ppb. All results were well below the California standard of 10 ppb.
MWRA’s well protected watersheds contain none of the sources of hexavalent chromium, and therefore we would not expect to find levels of concern. MWRA will continue to closely follow any new research and regulations with regard to hexavalent chromium and other potential contaminants.
For more information, visit the MWRA UCMR page.
If you have any questions about water quality, please visit MWRA's Water Testing page, which includes all of our annual and monthly test results, or contact us at 617-242-5323.
