In this Section
Issues: Water
What's on Tap?
Grading Drinking Water in U.S. Cities
Contents page
Grades at a Glance
The map and chart below identify at a glance the grades NRDC assigned to the 19 cities we surveyed for 2001. To read the complete findings (in Adobe Acrobat) for a particular city, including its grades for 2000, click on the city location on the map or the city name in the table. The table also includes links to contacts and resources for each city. To learn about our grading methodology, see Chapter 6 (84k PDF).
| City | Water Quality & Compliance | Right-to-Know Reports | Source Water Protection | Contacts & Resources |
| Albuquerque | Poor | Good | Poor | Click here |
| Atlanta | Fair | Fair | Poor | Click here |
| Baltimore | Good | Good | Fair | Click here |
| Boston | Poor | Poor | Good | Click here |
| Chicago | Excellent | Good | Fair | Click here |
| Denver | Good | Good | Good | Click here |
| Detroit | Good | Good | Poor | Click here |
| Fresno | Poor | Poor | Failing | Click here |
| Houston | Fair | Fair | Poor | Click here |
| Los Angeles | Fair | Good | Poor (import) Fair (local) |
Click here |
| Manchester | Good | Good | Good | Click here |
| New Orleans | Good | Good | Poor | Click here |
| Newark | Fair | Failing | Fair | Click here |
| Philadelphia | Fair | Good | Poor | Click here |
| Phoenix | Poor | Failing | Poor | Click here |
| San Diego | Fair | Fair | Poor (import) Fair (local) |
Click here |
| San Francisco | Poor | Fair | Good | Click here |
| Seattle | Fair | Fair | Excellent | Click here |
| Washington, D.C. | Fair | Fair | Fair | Click here |
Sign Up For Our Monthly Newsletter
Take Online Action Now!
Related NRDC Press Releases
Related Stories
- Sewage Pollution Threatens Public Health
- Aging sewer systems and Bush administration rollbacks of environmental law are compounding the problem.
- Rooftops to Rivers
- Green stormwater strategies to stop water pollution at its source.
- Arsenic in Drinking Water
- Answers to your questions about arsenic in drinking water.
- Nature along New York and New Jersey's Atlantic Coastlines
- See what's wild in the neighborhood with this month-by-month guide.
Related Links
Find Your Favorite NRDC website
- News & Blogs:
- OnEarth
- Switchboard
- Nature's Voice
- Activism:
- BioGems
- Polar Bear SOS
- Ocean Protection:
- Your Oceans
- Global Warming & Energy:
- Beat the Heat
- Move America Beyond Oil
- Health & Green Living:
- Simple Steps
- This Green Life
- Green Paws
- For Business:
- Building Green
- Market Innovation
- Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2)
- NRDC Cool Sites:
- It's Your Nature
- GreenDay+NRDC
- For Kids:
- Green Squad

