CITY OF BALTIMORE supplies 1,600,000 people here, drawing surface water. Here is its entire federal compliance record — and, just as importantly, what that record cannot tell you.
People served
1,600,000
CITY OF BALTIMORE
Source
surface water
SW
Violations on record
34
all time
Health-based
4
see below
If you are going to filter anything, this is a reason to. A plumbed reverse osmosis system handles the widest range of what turns up in municipal water; a carbon pitcher is the cheap version and handles less.
Plumbed reverse osmosis is the thorough answer and the cheapest per gallon once it is in — around $180 plus a two-hour install, then about $85 a year. A carbon pitcher is $28 and handles less, but it is a real option if the plumbing is not yours to change. Whichever you buy, check that it is certified for the specific thing you care about — NSF/ANSI 53 covers health contaminants, 58 covers reverse osmosis, and 42 is taste only.
4.5★ 9,300 reviews · 500+ bought last month
The cheapest way to get plumbed reverse osmosis, and the one that asks least of you afterwards — a filter change roughly once a year.
Against it: 50 gallons a day means a slow trickle — fine for drinking, irritating if you fill pots from it. Tank takes up most of an under-sink cupboard.
About $85/year in filters, plus roughly 2,190 gallons a year to drain at two gallons a day.
4.6★ 21,300 reviews · 3,000+ bought last month
Six stages with a remineralisation cartridge, because RO water tastes flat to a lot of people.
Against it: Six stages means six things to replace. The remineralisation stage is the one people quietly stop changing, and then they are paying for a stage that does nothing.
About $85/year in filters.
4.5★ 4,100 reviews · 3,000+ bought last month
Tankless, 600 gallons a day, and a 1:1 drain ratio instead of 3:1 — the only thing here that meaningfully cuts the waste cost.
Against it: Needs a power outlet under the sink, which a surprising number of kitchens do not have. Check before you order, not after.
About $95/year in filters, and roughly a third of the drain water of a conventional system.
4.6★ 60,000 reviews · 10,000+ bought last month
The cheapest thing that changes how water tastes. Sixty thousand reviews for a reason.
Against it: Ten cups is about two and a half days at one gallon a day, which means refilling it constantly. Almost every pitcher that ends up in a cupboard was abandoned over the refilling, not the filtering.
About $63/year in filters at two gallons a day.
4.6★ 16,500 reviews · 8,000+ bought last month
Cheaper than the Brita with a 200-gallon filter rating rather than 40, so fewer changes.
Against it: Longer-life filters are a claim about a lab, not your water. On hard supply, expect well under the rating.
You do not need to read this to make the decision above. It is here so the decision can be checked.
Health effects (EPA): Liver, kidney or central nervous system problems; increased risk of cancer
Typical sources: Byproduct of drinking water disinfection
EPA limit: --> 0.0807
Health effects (EPA): Increased risk of cancer
Typical sources: Byproduct of drinking water disinfection
EPA limit: 0.0607
| From | Contaminant | What happened | Health-based |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-01-01 | Total Trihalomethanes (TTHMs) | exceeded a maximum contaminant level | yes |
| 2025-07-02 | EPA contaminant code 5200 | missed required reporting | no |
| 2023-04-01 | Toxaphene | missed monitoring or reporting | no |
| 2023-04-01 | Toxaphene | missed monitoring or reporting | no |
| 2023-04-01 | Chlordane | missed monitoring or reporting | no |
| 2023-04-01 | Chlordane | missed monitoring or reporting | no |
| 2023-04-01 | EPA contaminant code 2384 | missed monitoring or reporting | no |
| 2023-04-01 | EPA contaminant code 2384 | missed monitoring or reporting | no |
| 2023-01-01 | Nitrite (measured as Nitrogen) | missed monitoring or reporting | no |
| 2022-09-05 | EPA contaminant code 7500 | other violation | no |
| 2022-09-01 | EPA contaminant code 8000 | exceeded a maximum contaminant level | yes |
| 2016-01-01 | Haloacetic acids (HAA5) | exceeded a maximum contaminant level | yes |
Showing the 12 most recent of 34. The complete record is public at EPA ECHO.
The health-based citations on this system name Total Trihalomethanes (TTHMs), Haloacetic acids (HAA5). Reverse osmosis removes dissolved contaminants of this kind more completely than a carbon pitcher does, which filters taste and some organics but not dissolved solids. Read the current Consumer Confidence Report before buying — a citation is a point in time, not a description of your water today.
What this record cannot tell you
This is a compliance record, not a water test. It describes the utility, not the pipe between the water main and your kitchen — which is where lead usually enters, and which no federal record covers. It also cannot tell you what is in your water today; a citation is a point in time. The measured levels are in your utility’s annual Consumer Confidence Report, which it must publish and which is free.
Source: US EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System, retrieved 2026-08-31 from data.epa.gov. Public water system MD0300002. Nothing on this page is written by hand — if a figure is not in EPA’s response, it does not appear here. All cities.