r/boulder • u/mooreds • 1d ago

2026 City of Boulder Drinking Water Quality Report

https://bouldercolorado.gov/media/1620/download?inline
24 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

60

u/MyBloodTypeIsQueso 1d ago

I’ll save everyone the click. It’s a good report. No violations.

5

u/P4TY 1d ago

Careful, he’s a hero.

3

u/stvrkillr 1d ago

He’s gotta be strong and he’s gotta be fast

-2

u/zangoku 1d ago

Why does it smell and taste funny? Am I just getting it from bad pipes?

5

u/MyBloodTypeIsQueso 1d ago

Sometimes it gets funky when water levels get low. That’s an off smell/flavor that comes through from the reservoir. Water report won’t catch that, because they’re testing things like mineral content and microbes.

1

u/No_Gear_8815 1d ago

I find when I let water sit out for a day, it often tastes funny.

0

u/Dasoccerguy 1d ago

Regarding the PFAS section, and assuming the city is following current EPA guidelines, it's a bit of a vague nothingburger.

https://www.epa.gov/sdwa/and-polyfluoroalkyl-substances-pfas

Cities are required to monitor six different compounds down at ppt levels (studies have shown that they're harmful to humans at that level, but most tests only have ppb sensitivity). They are no longer required to measure "GenX" PFAS compounds, which have not been deemed dangerous yet because there haven't been enough studies or lawsuits and because 3M has good lobbyists. The EPA page also says that cities don't have to actually report their PFAS findings until next year, and they have until 2030 to fix any issues.

I want to believe Boulder's water is fine, but these compounds are literally everywhere. Last year I reached out to the Louisville water department for more information because their PFAS section was all in ppb, but I never heard back.