Water Around

Illinois

Water in Chicago, IL

Cook County, Illinois · City overview · Page updated 2026-10-20

PFAS testing · samples through 2024-10-08

Local water overview

Water summary

Where Chicago gets its water

Chicago Department of Water Management is the likely provider for the mapped location in Chicago. Check your utility bill to confirm service at your address. The sources below describe the supply network; they do not establish water quality at your tap.

Water sources
Lake Michigan
Watershed
Chicago

Public drinking-water record

Drinking water in Chicago

Chicago Department of Water Management is listed for this area. Check your utility bill to confirm who supplies your home. These are public water-system records, not a test of the tap water at your home.

PFAS testing in Chicago’s drinking water

No PFAS detection above the reporting limit in these results. Most recent PFAS sample shown here: .

PFOA

Not detected above reporting limit

Sample date
Reporting limit
0.004 µg/L
Sample ID
810-123489-1

PFOS

Not detected above reporting limit

Sample date
Reporting limit
0.004 µg/L
Sample ID
810-123495-1

Selected latest compound samples from the published federal system record. Multiple sample points may share a date. A detection does not establish a violation. A non-detection does not mean PFAS-free. PFOA and PFOS limits and regulatory context are separate from these historical samples.

Lead and copper

Lead: 0.007 mg/L, period ending 2026-06-30. These are system 90th-percentile results, not individual household concentrations.

Drinking-water compliance

No current violations flagged; past records available. 0 current flags and 55 historical records in the federal publication dated September 1, 2026. Historical records are not all active violations.

EPA UCMR5 source and sampling program · EPA ECHO compliance and lead/copper records · Testing and source records for Chicago Department of Water Management

U.S. Drought Monitor ·

Drought around this place

This is the latest drought map in this publication, effective 2026-10-13; it is not a live report.

Cook County, Illinois: 0% of county area in D1 or worse; 0% in D0 or worse. D0 means abnormally dry. On 2026-10-06, D1 or worse covered 0%.

County area shares at or above each severity: D2 0% · D3 0% · D4 0%. These cumulative percentages overlap and must not be added. County conditions do not describe every point in a city or a drinking-water restriction.

Illinois drought and water context

Open the drought map and historical playback · U.S. Drought Monitor source

Loading the local water map…

Drought, streams, rainfall & wells

Latest water conditions

Read each measure with its date. Rainfall, streams and groundwater can change at different rates.

Drought

No mapped drought at this point

No mapped drought at this point

The published U.S. Drought Monitor map does not place this point inside a drought category.

Older report · 2026-10-13U.S. Drought Monitor

Published or effective 2026-10-13. Water Around last checked 2026-10-20T12:00:15.835637+00:00. This report may not describe conditions today.

Map effective 2026-10-13

Streamflow

Near seasonal range

Near seasonal range

Flow at this gauge was within its usual range for the season.

Older report · 2026-10-19USGS daily mean discharge

Published or effective 2026-10-19. Water Around last checked 2026-10-20T11:59:36.282Z. This report may not describe conditions today.

Higher than 63.3% of historical daily flows for this season

Recent rainfall

5.35 inches in 30 days

5.35 inches in 30 days

64% above the 1991–2020 station normal for this period.

Older report · 2026-10-17NOAA station observations

Published or effective 2026-10-17. Water Around last checked 2026-10-20T11:59:48.763Z. This report may not describe conditions today.

Through 2026-10-17

Groundwater

Method developing

Monitoring is available

Measurements are available at nearby wells. An overall groundwater condition is not calculated from them.

5 nearby monitoring wells

Your public water system

Chicago Department of Water Management

The mapped location falls within this system’s EPA service area. Confirm service to your home with the utility.

Local compliance cacheA local summary of reported violations is not available here. When federal records are available, you can read them in the drinking-water section above. Neither source is a live test of water at your tap.

Your watershed

South Branch Chicago River-Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal

A watershed is the land area where rain and streams drain toward a shared outlet. It helps explain natural water conditions, but it may not match the area supplying your tap.

Local watershed
South Branch Chicago River-Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal
Broader basin
Chicago

History

How water conditions in Chicago have changed

We do not have historical measurements to show here. This does not mean monitoring has never taken place.

History coverage

Chicago, IL

Historical measurements are not available here.

Below ground

Groundwater near Chicago

Aquifers can supply water; monitoring wells measure water levels at individual sites. One well does not describe an entire aquifer or your household well.

Groundwater sources

No aquifer source identified

The supply records do not name an aquifer. Groundwater may still be present.

Nearby monitoring

5 nearby monitoring wells

Detailed well pages are not available for these nearby sites yet.

Reading well data

What well measurements can tell you

A well’s water level does not tell us how much water an aquifer holds. Pumping totals alone do not show depletion, and a surface map does not show the aquifer’s full underground extent. To understand water quality in a private well, use tests from that well and local guidance.

Discovery

Compare nearby and related places

These places share geography or comparable data. Their water conditions may differ.

Rivers, lakes & drinking water

Water testing and assessments

Explore river and lake assessments, measurements taken nearby, drinking-water tests and dams. Each tells you something different about the area.

Official surface-water assessments

Some assessed waters are impaired

9 EPA water assessments are linked to this local watershed (HUC12).

0 supporting9 impaired0 unknown
See assessed waters and official status
Counts are assessment-unit records associated with the HUC12. They are not area weighted and do not describe every waterbody.
Monitoring activity
390 sites608 observations1 characteristics

Water Quality Portal measurements from the surrounding area. More measurements can mean more monitoring—not worse water.

microbial 608
See recent measurement examples

Enterococcus132 CCE/100mL · 2025-09-01

Enterococcus253 CCE/100mL · 2025-09-01

Enterococcus544 CCE/100mL · 2025-09-01

Enterococcus43 CCE/100mL · 2025-09-01

Enterococcus54 CCE/100mL · 2025-09-01

Enterococcus12 CCE/100mL · 2025-09-01

This bounded discovery is not the complete historical record and absence is not evidence of clean water.
UCMR5 PFAS monitoring

0 reported detections

Across 240 compound results and 8 samples for this water system.

Detection is not the same as violation.A reported detection is not, by itself, a drinking-water violation or a statement about a household tap. EPA states UCMR results do not indicate compliance or noncompliance with PFAS MCLs.
Nearby dam inventory

116 nearby dam records

These dams are nearby, but may not supply your drinking water. Hazard potential describes the consequences of a failure; condition describes the dam itself.

Chicago River and Harbor Controlling Works →1.35 mi away · IL55094HazardHighConditionNot Available
Mayfair Reservoir Dam →13.84 mi away · IL55169HazardLowConditionNot Available
Lower Elmhurst Dam →14.93 mi away · IL50304HazardHighConditionNot Available
Fullersburg Dam →15.84 mi away · IL50289HazardLowConditionNot Available
Thomas J. O'Brien Lock and Controlling Works →15.94 mi away · IL01013HazardHighConditionNot Available
Nearby dams are geographic context only, not inferred municipal supplies.

Waters around you

Rivers and lakes near Chicago

Nearby rivers and lakes from USGS maps. Proximity does not establish a drinking-water source, public access or shared water conditions.

Water sources

Where Chicago's water comes from

Chicago Department of Water Management receives water from Lake Michigan, according to the source records.

The links show sources and suppliers, not the amount being delivered today. Select one for its source record.

Sources traced upstreamSource coverage does not measure water quality or reliability.

Your water system

Where it gets water

Sources and relationships as a list

Documented current sources or suppliers for Chicago Department of Water Management include Lake Michigan. A relationship does not by itself establish the current delivered amount.

  1. Chicago Department of Water Management draws from Lake Michigan. Current. The relationship is documented; a current delivered amount is not available.
Water source types explained

Surface waterWater drawn from rivers, lakes, or reservoirs.

GroundwaterWater pumped from aquifers—bodies of rock or sediment that store and transmit groundwater, not underground lakes.

Wholesale waterA regional supplier can supply your local provider without serving your household directly.

Imported waterYour drinking-water source basin can differ from the watershed where you live.

Water AroundExplore your local water, with sources you can check.