Tap water report · updated November 2026
Portland tap water: soft water, no PFOA or PFOS found
What’s in the water Portland Water Bureau delivers to 666,200 people, from national testing by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the utility’s own report.
Short answer
Portland tap water is soft: about 0.5 grains per gallon (9 milligrams per liter (mg/L)), depending on which treatment plant serves your neighborhood (7 to 80 mg/L), according to published water quality data from Portland Water Bureau (2025). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) 2024 testing found no PFOA or PFOS (two PFAS “forever chemicals”) at or above its 4 parts per trillion (ppt) limit. The system had no health-based violations in the five years through September 2026. Of the 40 large US water systems The Water Monitor tracks, Portland has the softest water.
Sources: Portland Water Bureau 2025 data, EPA UCMR 5, EPA SDWIS 2026Q3 · Sources and method
How Portland compares with the 40 systems we track
Hardness
1st softest
of 34 systems
PFOA / PFOS
Not detected
in any EPA sample
Size
32nd largest
of 40 by people served
01 · What it means
What these readings mean for your home
Each reading in plain English: what it is, how Portland compares with the other systems we track, and whether there’s anything to do. The tags follow EPA’s limits and reference levels where EPA has one; for hardness, which has no EPA limit, they follow the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scale and Minnesota’s health department. New to the acronyms? Every term, in plain English.
Hardness
Nothing to doHardness is dissolved calcium and magnesium, picked up as water runs through rock. It isn’t a health issue (EPA has no limit for it). It’s what leaves white crust on faucets, spots on glasses and scale inside your water heater. It’s measured in grains per gallon (gpg); 1 gpg is about 17 mg of minerals in a liter.
Here: At 0.5 gpg, Portland water is soft, the 1st-softest of the 34 systems we track. Scale won’t be a problem.
What to do: Skip the softener. It would cost money and salt for no benefit.
What the research says: Studies tie hard water to more soap use and scale. Observational studies link it with somewhat more eczema in babies, but in the largest trial a softener didn’t improve existing eczema. The studies →
Learn more →PFAS (PFOA and PFOS)
Nothing to doPFAS are a family of thousands of manufactured chemicals used in many consumer and industrial products. They break down very slowly, which is why people call them "forever chemicals." PFOA and PFOS are the two EPA regulates most tightly. They’re measured in parts per trillion (ppt): 1 ppt is about one drop in 20 Olympic swimming pools.
Here: EPA’s 2024 testing found no PFOA or PFOS in Portland’s water at or above 4 ppt, the lowest level labs can reliably measure. 29 of the 40 systems we track can say the same; 11 had a sample over the limit.
What to do: Nothing needed by EPA’s standard. If you want PFAS lower still, the same certified filters apply.
What the research says: EPA and the National Academies link PFOA and PFOS exposure to higher cholesterol, lower vaccine response, lower birth weight and some cancers, mostly over years of drinking the water. The studies →
Learn more →Disinfectant
Nothing to doUtilities add a small amount of chlorine, or chloramine (chlorine combined with a little ammonia), so germs can’t grow in the pipes on the way to your tap. EPA allows up to 4 milligrams per liter (mg/L) of either and says water within its standards can be used for drinking, cooking and bathing.
Here: Portland uses chloramine, like 20 other systems we track. It lasts longer in pipes than chlorine and is harder to filter.
What to do: For taste, use catalytic carbon or a filter certified to NSF/ANSI 42 for chloramine. Fish tanks and home dialysis need it removed completely.
What the research says: Health agencies call these levels acceptable for drinking and bathing; dialysis and fish tanks are the exceptions. Studies haven’t shown shower chlorine harms skin or hair. The studies →
Learn more →Health-based violations
Nothing to doA health-based violation means the utility broke a federal drinking water rule tied to health: it went over a limit, or skipped a required treatment step. Missing a paperwork deadline doesn’t count.
Here: Portland’s system had none in the five years through September 2026. That’s normal for a large system: 36 of the 40 we track had none.
What to do: Nothing to do.
Learn more →How Portland compares: highest PFOA or PFOS sample
Parts per trillion (ppt), from EPA’s 2023–25 testing. The dashed line is EPA’s limit of 4.
Portland: none at or above 4 ppt. Like 28 other systems we track, EPA’s testing found no PFOA or PFOS there. These 11 did:
- Miami33.0 PFOS
- El Paso8.5 PFOS
- Fort Worth8.3 PFOA
- Philadelphia8.1 PFOA
- Louisville7.5 PFOA
- Tampa6.9 PFOS
- Dallas6.3 PFOA
- San Jose6.2 PFOS
- Cincinnati6.1 PFOS
- Columbus5.3 PFOA
- Austin4.8 PFOS
If you live in Portland
- Whole-house filters for chloramine Portland uses chloramine, which ordinary carbon removes slowly. What to look for and what it costs.
- Filters for the tap you drink from Portland’s water is soft, so a softener won’t help. For better taste, or a filter certified for something specific, the tap you drink from is the low-cost place to start.
02 · The full results
Every PFAS result EPA recorded
EPA’s national testing (sampled 2024) found no PFOA or PFOS at or above 4 ppt in any of 6 samples, which puts Portland under EPA’s limit for both.
Results from EPA’s national testing program (UCMR 5) for Portland Water Bureau, 2 sampling points, February 2024 to November 2024. Concentrations in parts per trillion (ppt).
| Chemical | Samples | Detected | Highest | EPA limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) | 6 | 0 | none | 4 |
| PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonic acid) | 6 | 0 | none | 4 |
| PFHxS | 6 | 0 | none | 10 |
| PFNA | 6 | 0 | none | 10 |
| HFPO-DA (GenX) | 6 | 0 | none | 10 |
"None" means every sample was under EPA’s reporting level (4 ppt for PFOA). PFHxS, PFNA and HFPO-DA (GenX) are three other PFAS chemicals; EPA proposed removing their limits in May 2026, and that isn’t final.
03 · Where it comes from
The source, and who else drinks it
Portland has two sources, surface water from the Bull Run Watershed and groundwater from the Columbia South Shore Well Field, and uses groundwater when needed as a supplemental and emergency supply.
Portland Water Bureau serves about 666,200 people directly, and 16 other water systems buy water from it, serving about 429,573 more. If you live in one of them, most of what’s on this page describes your water too, though hardness and disinfectant can change if your system blends in its own wells.
Portland is installing filtration for the Bull Run supply, with a target date of September 2029.
Portland’s water system had no health-based violations in the five years through September 2026, according to EPA’s federal database.
Largest systems that buy from Portland Water Bureau
- Tualatin Valley Water District224,600
- Gresham, City of73,932
- Rockwood PUD65,443
- Tualatin, City of28,106
- Sandy, City of12,991
- West Slope Water District11,000
- Raleigh Water District4,500
- Lake Grove Water District3,100
- Pleasant Home Water District1,510
- Palatine Hill Water District1,500
From EPA’s federal drinking water database (SDWIS), 2026Q3: community systems with an active connection buying from OR4100657. Population served.
ZIP codes Portland Water Bureau reports serving (36)
97030 · 97034 · 97035 · 97080 · 97086 · 97201 · 97202 · 97203 · 97204 · 97205 · 97206 · 97209 · 97210 · 97211 · 97212 · 97213 · 97214 · 97215 · 97216 · 97217 · 97218 · 97219 · 97220 · 97221 · 97222 · 97223 · 97225 · 97227 · 97229 · 97230 · 97231 · 97232 · 97233 · 97236 · 97239 · 97266
From EPA’s UCMR 5 ZIP file. A ZIP can be served by more than one system; your water bill names yours. Look up any ZIP.
04 · Questions
Portland water questions
Is Portland tap water safe to drink?
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) doesn’t grade a city’s tap water as safe or unsafe; it sets limits and records violations. By that record, Portland’s water system had no health-based violations of federal drinking water rules in the five years through September 2026. EPA’s 2024 testing found no PFOA or PFOS (two PFAS “forever chemicals”) samples above its 4 parts per trillion (ppt) limit.
Is Portland tap water hard?
Portland tap water is soft: about 0.5 grains per gallon (9 milligrams per liter (mg/L)), depending on which treatment plant serves your neighborhood (7 to 80 mg/L), according to published water quality data from Portland Water Bureau (2025).
Does Portland tap water have PFAS?
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) national testing (sampled 2024) found no PFOA or PFOS (two PFAS “forever chemicals”) at or above 4 parts per trillion (ppt) in any of 6 samples, which puts Portland under EPA’s limit for both.
Does Portland use chlorine or chloramine?
Chloramine. Portland adds chlorine and then ammonia to form chloramines, and it treats both the Bull Run and groundwater supplies this way.
Has Portland’s water system had violations?
Portland’s water system had no health-based violations in the five years through September 2026, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) federal database.
Nearest cities we cover
Sources
- 01Portland Water Bureau, 2025 water quality data (hardness), read 2026-11-04
- 02Portland Water Bureau (source water)
- 03EPA, Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5) occurrence data, file posted 2026-10-15
- 04EPA, Safe Drinking Water Information System via ECHO, 2026Q3 file
- 05EPA, PFAS National Primary Drinking Water Regulation, 89 FR 32532
- 06USGS Water Science School, "Hardness of Water"
EPA system ID OR4100657 · Portland Water Bureau