CHICAGO supplies 2,721,308 people here, drawing surface water. Here is its entire federal compliance record — and, just as importantly, what that record cannot tell you.
People served
2,721,308
CHICAGO
Source
surface water
SW
Violations on record
49
all time
Health-based
1
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.
| From | Contaminant | What happened | Health-based |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-07-02 | EPA contaminant code 5200 | missed required reporting | no |
| 2025-05-01 | EPA contaminant code 0300 | missed monitoring or reporting | no |
| 2025-04-01 | EPA contaminant code 0300 | missed monitoring or reporting | no |
| 2025-01-01 | Dinoseb | missed monitoring or reporting | no |
| 2024-07-01 | EPA contaminant code 2920 | missed monitoring or reporting | no |
| 2024-07-01 | EPA contaminant code 2920 | missed monitoring or reporting | no |
| 2024-07-01 | EPA contaminant code 2920 | missed monitoring or reporting | no |
| 2024-07-01 | EPA contaminant code 2920 | missed monitoring or reporting | no |
| 2021-12-30 | EPA contaminant code 5000 | missed monitoring or reporting | no |
| 2021-07-01 | EPA contaminant code 7000 | other violation | no |
| 2020-07-01 | EPA contaminant code 7000 | other violation | no |
| 2019-01-01 | Endrin | missed monitoring or reporting | no |
Showing the 12 most recent of 49. The complete record is public at EPA ECHO.
This system has no violations on its federal record. That is not the same as clean water, and we will not pretend it is — it means nothing has been reported. It does mean there is no recorded reason here to spend money on filtration. Test your own tap first.
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 IL0316000. Nothing on this page is written by hand — if a figure is not in EPA’s response, it does not appear here. All cities.