Starting in January 2025, Fort Collins Utilities has been participating in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5). 

Water providers nationwide monitor unregulated contaminants to help the EPA determine the frequency of these contaminants in drinking water and determine whether they need to be regulated in the future. EPA uses the UCMR to collect data on contaminants that are suspected of being in drinking water but do not have health-based standards set under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).

Utilities is committed to protecting public health and supporting EPA’s research. UCMR 5 will provide new data that will improve EPA’s understanding of the frequency that 29 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and lithium are found in the nation’s drinking water systems, and at what levels. The monitoring data on PFAS and lithium will help the EPA determine future regulations and other actions to protect public health under the SDWA. As data is collected throughout 2025, it will be posted here.