Bradenton, Florida

What is the Water Quality in Bradenton, Florida?

Compared to other US cities, Bradenton water quality ranks in the lower range for contamination excluding Lead.

Most of their 16 contaminants have cancer-causing attributes.

• Cadmium is at high levels: 4.2x health guidelines.
• Haloacetic acids (HAA5) are at extremely high levels: 174x health guidelines.
• Haloacetic acids (HAA9) are at extremely high levels: 337x health guidelines.
  • HAA5 and HAA9 are byproducts of chlorine treatment, a common method of disinfecting water supplies.
• Radium is at high levels: 12x health guidelines.

Let’s look closer at what’s in Bradenton water.

What’s in Bradenton water?

Here are the top 5 chemical compounds in your water and what health issues they can potentially cause:

1. Cadmium – Potential effect: Harm to the kidney
2. Chlorate – Potential effect: Harm to the thyroid. Cannot be filtered out.
3. Haloacetic acids (HAA5 and HAA9) – Potential effect: Cancer
4. Radium – Potential effect: Cancer
5. Total trihalomethanes – Potential effect: Cancer

These are five of the 16 contaminants analyzed by the Environmental Working Group (ewg.org).

6 of the total contaminants are rated as exceeding EWG Health Guidelines.

Does Bradenton have Lead contamination?

Yes, Bradenton has lead in its water. The most recent Lead samples collected in 2016 showed concentrations up to 1.1 parts per billion (ppb).

The legal limit for lead is 15 parts per billion. Being well-below this level is a good thing.

• Concentrations between 3.8 ppb and 15 ppb put a formula-fed baby at risk of elevated blood lead levels. Read more about the symptoms of Lead in water.

There is no safe level of lead for humans.

• The good news is that 99.99% of the lead can be filtered out.

See the What Can You Do? section below to learn how to filter out contaminants.

Where does Bradenton’s water come from?

Bradenton’s water comes from the Manatee River – Warner Bayou watershed.

All 7 assessed water sources in the Manatee River – Warner Bayou watershed are in Impaired or Unknown condition. These include:

• Manatee River – Multiple sections
• Tampa Bay
• Terra Ceia Bay
• Wares Creek
• West Cedar Hammock

Ideally, a water source would be rated in Good condition.

Whether a water source is in Impaired or Good condition refers to the quality of three uses:

1. Aquatic Life
2. Fish and Shellfish Consumption
3. Recreation

Learn more from How’s My Waterway

See below for what you can do to improve Bradenton’s water.

What Can You Do?

Information about water quality in Bradenton can be surprising.

But there are things you can do in your home to clean up your water.

To Remove Lead and Other Contaminants In Your Home:

There is one solution that beats Brita, PUR, and expensive whole house systems.

• It costs less per gallon.
• Needs fewer filter changes.
• And it doesn’t make your water taste weird.

• Use Berkey filters with activated carbon to filter out at least 80% of contaminants in your drinking water.
  • Berkey filters can also remove up to 99.99% of Lead in Bradenton water.
  • Brita can filter 4 of 16 contaminants and Lead depending on the filter.
    • Includes: Cadmium, HAA5, HAA9, and Total trihalomethanes.
  • Note: We may receive a commission if you decide to purchase filters through links on this page.
• To filter out 13 of the 16 contaminants in your whole house, consider a Reverse Osmosis water filtration system for your home.
  • These are more expensive than pitchers to purchase, but can be more effective.
  • They have the benefit of filtering out heavy hitters like:
    • Aluminum
    • Barium
    • Cadmium
    • Cobalt – at high levels can cause heart problems and is suspected of causing cancer.
    • Fluoride
    • Haloacetic acids (HAA5 and HAA9) – byproduct of chlorination*
    • Hexavalent chromium
    • Nitrate
    • Radium
    • Selenium
    • Strontium
    • Total trihalomethanes – byproduct of chlorination*

*Chlorination is an effective method of disinfecting/treating drinking water. You can then use a water filter to reduce the effects of chlorination byproducts to get the safest, cleanest water possible.

In Your Community:

Contact your local government officials and put pressure on them to invest in cleaner waterways and upgraded city water filtration and treatment.

Go to: https://cityofbradenton.com/ to find contact information for your local officials.

Water Quality in Other Florida Cities

Florida Water Quality Page