Explainer · rule change
Your water report twice a year, starting in 2027
Under EPA’s revised Consumer Confidence Report rule, community water systems serving 10,000 or more people will deliver their water-quality report twice a year from 2027. Smaller systems keep one report a year.
A clearer perspective.What changes, and when
EPA announced the final Consumer Confidence Report Rule Revisions on May 15, 2024, and published them in the Federal Register on May 24, 2024. Water systems must follow the new requirements starting in 2027.
- By July 1: the annual report, covering January through December of the previous year, as today.
- By December 31: a second delivery for systems serving 10,000 or more people. If the system had a drinking-water violation, a lead result above a set level, or new monitoring results for unregulated contaminants, the second report includes a six-month update. Otherwise, the system sends the first report again.
- Systems serving fewer than 10,000 people continue to deliver one report a year.
- Systems serving 50,000 or more must post reports on a public website and keep them available for at least three years.
What else the revised reports must include
The rule also asks for plain-language summaries, help with translation where many customers speak another language, clearer statements about nitrate and arsenic, and more detail about lead. When a system’s lead results exceed the action level, the report must say what the system is doing about it and when.
What it means for you
If your utility serves 10,000 or more people, expect a second report in December 2027. It is the quickest way to see a violation or new unregulated-contaminant results from the first half of the year without waiting for the next annual report. The national records on this site update only when EPA publishes new data, so your utility’s report can be newer.
To find your report, see how to find your Consumer Confidence Report.