Waco residents can review the city’s 2025 drinking-water report

Waco’s 2025 Consumer Confidence Report is available for residents who want to see where the city’s drinking water comes from, how it is treated, and what routine monitoring found during the calendar year.

The City of Waco published the report on July 1, 2026. That publication date is separate from the testing period: the report covers water-quality monitoring conducted during 2025.

What Waco’s report says

Waco’s drinking water comes from Lake Waco, which the city identifies as its primary surface-water source. The report says water is treated through dissolved air flotation, ozone treatment, filtration and disinfection with chloramine before it is delivered to customers.

The city says it met all drinking-water standards during 2025. It also reports that no maximum contaminant level violations or E. coli violations occurred and that the system met Total Coliform Rule monitoring and treatment requirements.

The report’s tables list contaminants that were detected or monitored, along with measured levels, applicable standards and whether a violation occurred. For example, the report lists barium at a highest detected level of 0.0408 parts per million against a maximum contaminant level of 2 parts per million. Nitrate was reported at up to 0.30 parts per million against a 10-parts-per-million standard.

The report also lists disinfection by-products. Haloacetic acids had a highest locational running annual average of 14 parts per billion against a limit of 60, while total trihalomethanes had a highest locational running annual average of 36 parts per billion against a limit of 80. Both were listed as having no violation.

A detection does not automatically mean the water violated a standard. The report uses different measures, including individual sample ranges and running annual averages, depending on the contaminant and regulatory requirement.

What the report says about lead

For lead, Waco reported a 90th-percentile result of 1.89 parts per billion, compared with an action level of 15 parts per billion. The report lists zero sites over the action level and no violation.

The lead section is not a household-by-household guarantee. The city says lead exposure can be associated with service lines, plumbing materials and fixtures, particularly after water has been sitting in pipes. Waco’s report says the city has removed all known lead service lines from its system, but private plumbing can still vary from home to home. Residents concerned about lead can flush a tap for 30 seconds to two minutes after water has been sitting and may choose to have their water tested.

Estimated water loss

The report says Waco’s water-loss audit for January through December 2025 estimated that the system lost 590,950,614 gallons, or about 6.6% of total system input volume.

The city lists possible sources of reported water loss, including line leaks, line breaks, meter inaccuracies, data-handling errors, fire protection use and unauthorized consumption. The figure is a system estimate, not a household-level measurement or a confirmed total of underground leaks.

What residents should and should not infer

An annual Consumer Confidence Report summarizes required monitoring and compliance information for a public water system. It does not test every household’s tap, establish that every home has identical water quality, or prove that no health risk is possible. Household plumbing, fixtures and water that has been sitting in pipes can affect what reaches a particular tap.

The report also covers regulated or monitored contaminants included in the city’s testing program. It should not be read as a guarantee that every possible substance has been tested or that a listed detection automatically represents a violation.

How residents can read the report

Residents can review the complete 2025 report through the City of Waco’s Water Quality Report page. Anyone who wants a printed copy mailed to them can contact MyWaco Central at 254-299-CITY, or 254-299-2489.

An annual Consumer Confidence Report is different from a boil-water notice. The annual report summarizes routine monitoring and compliance information from the previous year. A boil-water notice is an incident-specific public notification issued when conditions such as a water outage, low pressure or a contamination concern require immediate customer instructions.

Sources

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