Table of Contents
Can You Drink Tap Water in Lakeland?
Yes, Lakeland's tap water is generally considered safe to drink as Lakeland has no active health based violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) that we are aware of. Other factors such as lead piping in a home, or low levels of pollutants on immunocompromised individuals, should also be considered, however. To find more recent info we might have, you can check out our boil water notice page or the city's water provider website.
According the EPA’s ECHO database, from April 30, 2019 to June 30, 2022, Lakeland's water utility, Southwest/Polk County Utility, had 3 non-health-based violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act. For more details on the violations, please see our violation history section below. The last violation for Lakeland was resolved on Dec. 31, 2021. This assessment is based on the Southwest/Polk County Utility water system, other water systems in the city may have different results.
While tap water that meets the EPA health guidelines generally won’t make you sick to your stomach, it can still contain regulated and unregulated contaminants present in trace amounts that could potentially cause health issues over the long-run. These trace contaminants may also impact immunocompromised and vulnerable individuals.
The EPA is reviewing if it’s current regulations around pollutant levels in tap water are strict enough, and the health dangers posed by unregulated pollutants, like PFAS.
Lakeland Tap Water Safe Drinking Water Act Violation History - Prior 10 Years
Below is a ten year history of violations for the water system named Southwest/Polk County Utility for Lakeland in Florida. For more details please see the "What do these Violations Mean?" section below.
From Jan. 1, 2021 to Dec. 31, 2021, Lakeland had 2 non-health based Safe Drinking Water Act violations with the violation category being Monitoring and Reporting, more specifically, the violation code was Monitoring and Reporting (DBP) which falls into the Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule rule code group, and the Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule rule code family for the following contaminant codes: Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5), TTHM.
From Jan. 1, 2020 to Dec. 31, 2020, Lakeland had 1 non-health based Safe Drinking Water Act violation with the violation category being Monitoring and Reporting, more specifically, the violation code was Monitoring, Regular which falls into the Chemicals rule code group, and the Inorganic Chemicals rule code family for the following contaminant code: Nitrate.
From Oct. 1, 2018 to Oct. 31, 2018, Lakeland had 1 non-health based Safe Drinking Water Act violation with the violation category being Monitoring Violation, more specifically, the violation code was Monitoring, Routine (RTCR) which falls into the Microbials rule code group, and the Total Coliform Rules rule code family for the following contaminant code: Revised Total Coliform Rule.
From April 1, 2014 to June 30, 2014, Lakeland had 2 non-health based Safe Drinking Water Act violations with the violation category being Monitoring and Reporting, more specifically, the violation code was Monitoring and Reporting (DBP) which falls into the Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule rule code group, and the Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule rule code family for the following contaminant codes: Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5), TTHM.
Is there Lead in Lakeland Water?
Based on the EPA’s ECHO Database, 90% of the samples taken from the Lakeland water system, Southwest/Polk County Utility, between sample start date and sample end date, were at or below, 0.001 mg/L of lead in Lakeland water. This is 6.7% of the 0.015 mg/L action level. This means 10% of the samples taken from Lakeland contained more lead.
While Lakeland water testing may have found 0.001 mg/L of lead in its water, that does not mean your water source has the same amount. The amount of lead in water in a city can vary greatly from neighborhood to neighborhood, or even building to building. Many buildings, particularly older ones, have lead pipes or service lines which can be a source of contamination. To find out if your home has lead, we recommend getting you water tested.
No amount of lead in water is healthy, only less dangerous. As lead accumulates in our bodies over time, even exposure to relatively small amounts can have negative health effects. For more information, please check out our Lead FAQ page.
Are there PFAS in Lakeland Tap Water?
Currently, testing tap water for PFAS isn’t mandated on a national level. We do have a list of military bases where there have been suspected or confirmed leaks. There appears to be at least one military base - MacDill Air Force Base - near Lakeland with suspected leaks.
With many potential sources of PFAS in tap water across the US, the best information we currently have about which cities have PFAS in their water is this ewg map, which you can check to see if Lakeland has been evaluated for yet.
Our stance is better safe than sorry, and that it makes sense to try to purify the tap water just in case.
Lakeland SDWA Violation History Table - Prior 10 Years
| Compliance Period | Status | Health-Based? | Category Code | Code | Rule Code | Contaminant Code | Rule Group Code | Rule Family Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01/01/2021 - 12/31/2021 | Resolved | No | Monitoring and Reporting (MR) | Monitoring and Reporting (DBP) (27) | Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule (220) | Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) (2456) | Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule (200) | Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule (220) |
| 01/01/2021 - 12/31/2021 | Resolved | No | Monitoring and Reporting (MR) | Monitoring and Reporting (DBP) (27) | Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule (220) | TTHM (2950) | Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule (200) | Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule (220) |
| 01/01/2020 - 12/31/2020 | Resolved | No | Monitoring and Reporting (MR) | Monitoring, Regular (03) | Nitrates (331) | Nitrate (1040) | Chemicals (300) | Inorganic Chemicals (330) |
| 10/01/2018 - 10/31/2018 | Resolved | No | Monitoring Violation (MON) | Monitoring, Routine (RTCR) (3A) | Revised Total Coliform Rule (111) | Revised Total Coliform Rule (8000) | Microbials (100) | Total Coliform Rules (110) |
| 04/01/2014 - 06/30/2014 | Resolved | No | Monitoring and Reporting (MR) | Monitoring and Reporting (DBP) (27) | Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule (220) | Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) (2456) | Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule (200) | Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule (220) |
| 04/01/2014 - 06/30/2014 | Resolved | No | Monitoring and Reporting (MR) | Monitoring and Reporting (DBP) (27) | Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule (220) | TTHM (2950) | Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule (200) | Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule (220) |
What do these Violations Mean?
Safe Drinking Water Act Violations categories split into two groups, health based, and non-health based. Generally, health based violations are more serious, though non-health based violations can also be cause for concern.
Health Based Violations
- Maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) - maximum allowed contaminant level was exceeded.
- Maximum residual disinfectant levels (MRDLs) - maximum allowed disinfectant level was exceeded.
- Other violations (Other) - the exact required process to reduce the amounts of contaminants in drinking water was not followed.
Non-Health Based Violations
- Monitoring and reporting violations (MR, MON) - failure to conduct the required regular monitoring of drinking water quality, and/or to submit monitoring results on time.
- Public notice violations (Other) - failure to immediately alert consumers if there is a serious problem with their drinking water that may pose a risk to public health.
- Other violations (Other) - miscellaneous violations, such as failure to issue annual consumer confidence reports or maintain required records.
SDWA Table Key
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Compliance Period | Dates of the compliance period. |
| Status |
Current status of the violation.
|
| Health-Based? | Whether the violation is health based. |
| Category Code |
The category of violation that is reported.
|
| Code | A full description of violation codes can be accessed in the SDWA_REF_CODE_VALUES (CSV) table. |
| Contaminant Code | A code value that represents a contaminant for which a public water system has incurred a violation of a primary drinking water regulation. |
| Rule Code |
Code for a National Drinking Water rule.
|
| Rule Group Code |
Code that uniquely identifies a rule group.
|
| Rule Family Code |
Code for rule family.
|
For more clarification please visit the EPA's data dictionary.
Lakeland Water - Frequently Asked Questions
| By Phone: | 863-298-4235 |
| By Mail: | 1011 JIM KEENE BLVD. WINTER HAVEN, FL, 33880 |
Existing customers can login to their Southwest/Polk County Utility account to pay their Lakeland water bill by clicking here.
If you want to pay your Southwest/Polk County Utility bill online and haven't made an account yet, you can create an account online. Please click here to create your account to pay your Lakeland water bill.
If you don't want to make an account, or can't remember your account, you can make a one-time payment towards your Lakeland water bill without creating an account using a one time payment portal with your account number and credit or debit card. Click here to make a one time payment.
Moving to a new house or apartment in Lakeland means you will often need to put the water in your name with Southwest/Polk County Utility. In order to put the water in your name, please click the link to the start service form below. Start service requests for water bills typically take two business days.
Leaving your house or apartment in Lakeland means you will likely need to take your name off of the water bill with Southwest/Polk County Utility. In order to take your name off the water bill, please click the link to the stop service form below. Stop service for water bills requests typically take two business days.
The estimated price of bottled water
$2 in USD (1.5-liter)
USER SUBMITTED RATINGS
- Drinking Water Pollution and Inaccessibility
- Water Pollution
- Drinking Water Quality and Accessibility
- Water Quality
The above data is comprised of subjective, user submitted opinions about the water quality and pollution in Lakeland, measured on a scale from 0% (lowest) to 100% (highest).
Related FAQS
Contaminants
City of Lakeland
EWG's drinking water quality report shows results of tests conducted by the water utility and provided to the Environmental Working Group by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, as well as information from the U.S. EPA Enforcement and Compliance History database (ECHO). For the latest quarter assessed by the U.S. EPA (January 2019 - March 2019), tap water provided by this water utility was in compliance with federal health-based drinking water standards.
Utility details
- Serves: 174172
- Data available: 2012-2017
- Data Source: Groundwater
- Total: 12
Contaminants That Exceed Guidelines
- Chromium (hexavalent)
- Radium%2C combined (-226 & -228)
- Total trihalomethanes (TTHMs)
Other Detected Contaminants
- 1%2C4-Dioxane
- Aluminum
- Barium
- Chlorate
- Fluoride
- Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
- Molybdenum
- Strontium
- Vanadium
Reminder
Always take extra precautions, the water may be safe to drink when it leaves the sewage treatment plant but it may pick up pollutants during its way to your tap. We advise that you ask locals or hotel staff about the water quality. Also, note that different cities have different water mineral contents.
Sources and Resources
Sources Cited
Additional Resources
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You may be surprised to know that a large percentage of the tap water that is supplied to many homes in Lakeland, FL. contains bacteria and other contaminants that could cause illness. When you compare the levels of contaminants in Lakeland, FL. tap water to the same water supplies in cities such as Denver, CO., San Francisco, CA., Los Angeles, CA., or Chicago, IL., it is obvious that these contaminants do not belong in our local water supply.
The City of Lakeland has recently announced that it will begin testing its tap water to determine the levels of contaminants. These tests will be performed by accredited laboratories and if the results reveal high levels of contaminants, the City of Lakeland will be required to remove the water from its customers” homes for one to two weeks.
There are a number of reasons for the City of Lakeland”s action. It is not surprising to learn that the city is concerned about the health of its residents.