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Is Marquette Tap Water Safe to Drink?

Yes! Generally Safe to Drink*

LAST UPDATED: 7:47 pm, July 22, 2022
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Table of Contents

Can You Drink Tap Water in Marquette?

Yes, Marquette's tap water is generally considered safe to drink as Marquette has no active health based violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) that we are aware of. Other factors such as lead piping in a home, or low levels of pollutants on immunocompromised individuals, should also be considered, however. To find more recent info we might have, you can check out our boil water notice page or the city's water provider website.

According the EPA’s ECHO database, from April 30, 2019 to June 30, 2022, Marquette's water utility, Marquette, had 0 violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act. For more details on the violations, please see our violation history section below. The last violation for Marquette was resolved on Sept. 30, 2018. This assessment is based on the Marquette water system, other water systems in the city may have different results.

While tap water that meets the EPA health guidelines generally won’t make you sick to your stomach, it can still contain regulated and unregulated contaminants present in trace amounts that could potentially cause health issues over the long-run. These trace contaminants may also impact immunocompromised and vulnerable individuals.

The EPA is reviewing if it’s current regulations around pollutant levels in tap water are strict enough, and the health dangers posed by unregulated pollutants, like PFAS.

Marquette Tap Water Safe Drinking Water Act Violation History - Prior 10 Years

Below is a ten year history of violations for the water system named Marquette for Marquette in Michigan. For more details please see the "What do these Violations Mean?" section below.

From July 1, 2018 to Sept. 30, 2018, Marquette had 1 non-health based Safe Drinking Water Act violation with the violation category being Monitoring and Reporting, more specifically, the violation code was Monitoring and Reporting (DBP) which falls into the Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule rule code group, and the Stage 1 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule rule code family for the following contaminant code: CARBON, TOTAL.

For the compliance period beginning July 1, 2017, Marquette had 1 non-health based Safe Drinking Water Act violation with the violation category being Other Violation, more specifically, the violation code was Consumer Confidence Report Complete Failure to Report which falls into the Other rule code group, and the Consumer Confidence Rule rule code family for the following contaminant code: Consumer Confidence Rule.

From Jan. 1, 2015 to Dec. 31, 2015, Marquette had 21 non-health based Safe Drinking Water Act violations with the violation category being Monitoring and Reporting, more specifically, the violation code was Monitoring, Regular which falls into the Chemicals rule code group, and the Volatile Organic Chemicals rule code family for the following contaminant codes: 1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene, 1,2-Dichloroethane, 1,1,1-Trichloroethane, Carbon tetrachloride, 1,2-Dichloropropane, Trichloroethylene, Tetrachloroethylene, CHLOROBENZENE, Benzene, Toluene, cis-1,2-Dichloroethylene, Styrene, Xylenes, Total, DICHLOROMETHANE, Vinyl chloride, 1,1-Dichloroethylene, trans-1,2-Dichloroethylene, p-Dichlorobenzene, 1,1,2-Trichloroethane, Ethylbenzene, o-Dichlorobenzene.

Is there Lead in Marquette Water?

Based on the EPA’s ECHO Database, 90% of the samples taken from the Marquette water system, Marquette, between sample start date and sample end date, were at or below, 0.007 mg/L of lead in Marquette water. This is 46.7% of the 0.015 mg/L action level. This means 10% of the samples taken from Marquette contained more lead.

While Marquette water testing may have found 0.007 mg/L of lead in its water, that does not mean your water source has the same amount. The amount of lead in water in a city can vary greatly from neighborhood to neighborhood, or even building to building. Many buildings, particularly older ones, have lead pipes or service lines which can be a source of contamination. To find out if your home has lead, we recommend getting you water tested.

No amount of lead in water is healthy, only less dangerous. As lead accumulates in our bodies over time, even exposure to relatively small amounts can have negative health effects. For more information, please check out our Lead FAQ page.

Are there PFAS in Marquette Tap Water?

Currently, testing tap water for PFAS isn’t mandated on a national level. We do have a list of military bases where there have been suspected or confirmed leaks. There appears to be at least one military base - K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base - near Marquette with suspected leaks.

With many potential sources of PFAS in tap water across the US, the best information we currently have about which cities have PFAS in their water is this ewg map, which you can check to see if Marquette has been evaluated for yet.

Our stance is better safe than sorry, and that it makes sense to try to purify the tap water just in case.

Marquette SDWA Violation History Table - Prior 10 Years

Compliance Period Status Health-Based? Category Code Code Rule Code Contaminant Code Rule Group Code Rule Family Code
07/01/2018 - 09/30/2018 Resolved No Monitoring and Reporting (MR) Monitoring and Reporting (DBP) (27) Stage 1 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule (210) CARBON, TOTAL (2920) Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule (200) Stage 1 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule (210)
07/01/2017 - Resolved No Other Violation (Other) Consumer Confidence Report Complete Failure to Report (71) Consumer Confidence Rule (420) Consumer Confidence Rule (7000) Other (400) Consumer Confidence Rule (420)
01/01/2015 - 12/31/2015 Resolved No Monitoring and Reporting (MR) Monitoring, Regular (03) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310) 1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene (2378) Chemicals (300) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310)
01/01/2015 - 12/31/2015 Resolved No Monitoring and Reporting (MR) Monitoring, Regular (03) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310) 1,2-Dichloroethane (2980) Chemicals (300) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310)
01/01/2015 - 12/31/2015 Resolved No Monitoring and Reporting (MR) Monitoring, Regular (03) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310) 1,1,1-Trichloroethane (2981) Chemicals (300) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310)
01/01/2015 - 12/31/2015 Resolved No Monitoring and Reporting (MR) Monitoring, Regular (03) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310) Carbon tetrachloride (2982) Chemicals (300) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310)
01/01/2015 - 12/31/2015 Resolved No Monitoring and Reporting (MR) Monitoring, Regular (03) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310) 1,2-Dichloropropane (2983) Chemicals (300) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310)
01/01/2015 - 12/31/2015 Resolved No Monitoring and Reporting (MR) Monitoring, Regular (03) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310) Trichloroethylene (2984) Chemicals (300) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310)
01/01/2015 - 12/31/2015 Resolved No Monitoring and Reporting (MR) Monitoring, Regular (03) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310) Tetrachloroethylene (2987) Chemicals (300) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310)
01/01/2015 - 12/31/2015 Resolved No Monitoring and Reporting (MR) Monitoring, Regular (03) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310) CHLOROBENZENE (2989) Chemicals (300) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310)
01/01/2015 - 12/31/2015 Resolved No Monitoring and Reporting (MR) Monitoring, Regular (03) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310) Benzene (2990) Chemicals (300) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310)
01/01/2015 - 12/31/2015 Resolved No Monitoring and Reporting (MR) Monitoring, Regular (03) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310) Toluene (2991) Chemicals (300) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310)
01/01/2015 - 12/31/2015 Resolved No Monitoring and Reporting (MR) Monitoring, Regular (03) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310) cis-1,2-Dichloroethylene (2380) Chemicals (300) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310)
01/01/2015 - 12/31/2015 Resolved No Monitoring and Reporting (MR) Monitoring, Regular (03) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310) Styrene (2996) Chemicals (300) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310)
01/01/2015 - 12/31/2015 Resolved No Monitoring and Reporting (MR) Monitoring, Regular (03) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310) Xylenes, Total (2955) Chemicals (300) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310)
01/01/2015 - 12/31/2015 Resolved No Monitoring and Reporting (MR) Monitoring, Regular (03) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310) DICHLOROMETHANE (2964) Chemicals (300) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310)
01/01/2015 - 12/31/2015 Resolved No Monitoring and Reporting (MR) Monitoring, Regular (03) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310) Vinyl chloride (2976) Chemicals (300) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310)
01/01/2015 - 12/31/2015 Resolved No Monitoring and Reporting (MR) Monitoring, Regular (03) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310) 1,1-Dichloroethylene (2977) Chemicals (300) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310)
01/01/2015 - 12/31/2015 Resolved No Monitoring and Reporting (MR) Monitoring, Regular (03) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310) trans-1,2-Dichloroethylene (2979) Chemicals (300) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310)
01/01/2015 - 12/31/2015 Resolved No Monitoring and Reporting (MR) Monitoring, Regular (03) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310) p-Dichlorobenzene (2969) Chemicals (300) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310)
01/01/2015 - 12/31/2015 Resolved No Monitoring and Reporting (MR) Monitoring, Regular (03) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310) 1,1,2-Trichloroethane (2985) Chemicals (300) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310)
01/01/2015 - 12/31/2015 Resolved No Monitoring and Reporting (MR) Monitoring, Regular (03) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310) Ethylbenzene (2992) Chemicals (300) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310)
01/01/2015 - 12/31/2015 Resolved No Monitoring and Reporting (MR) Monitoring, Regular (03) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310) o-Dichlorobenzene (2968) Chemicals (300) Volatile Organic Chemicals (310)

What do these Violations Mean?

Safe Drinking Water Act Violations categories split into two groups, health based, and non-health based. Generally, health based violations are more serious, though non-health based violations can also be cause for concern.

Health Based Violations

  1. Maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) - maximum allowed contaminant level was exceeded.
  2. Maximum residual disinfectant levels (MRDLs) - maximum allowed disinfectant level was exceeded.
  3. Other violations (Other) - the exact required process to reduce the amounts of contaminants in drinking water was not followed.

Non-Health Based Violations

  1. Monitoring and reporting violations (MR, MON) - failure to conduct the required regular monitoring of drinking water quality, and/or to submit monitoring results on time.
  2. Public notice violations (Other) - failure to immediately alert consumers if there is a serious problem with their drinking water that may pose a risk to public health.
  3. Other violations (Other) - miscellaneous violations, such as failure to issue annual consumer confidence reports or maintain required records.

SDWA Table Key

Field Description
Compliance Period Dates of the compliance period.
Status Current status of the violation.
  • Resolved - The violation has at least one resolving enforcement action. In SDWIS, this indicates that either the system has returned to compliance from the violation, the rule that was violated was no longer applicable, or no further action was needed.
  • Archived - The violation is not Resolved, but is more than five years past its compliance period end date. In keeping with the Enforcement Response Policy, the violation no longer contributes to the public water system's overall compliance status. Unresolved violations are also marked as Archived when a system ceases operations (becomes inactive).
  • Addressed - The violation is not Resolved or Archived, and is addressed by one or more formal enforcement actions.
  • Unaddressed - The violation is not Resolved or Archived, and has not been addressed by formal enforcement.
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Health-Based? Whether the violation is health based.
Category Code
The category of violation that is reported.
  • TT - Treatment Technique Violation
  • MRDL - Maximum Residual Disinfectant Level
  • Other - Other Violation
  • MCL - Maximum Contaminant Level Violation
  • MR - Monitoring and Reporting
  • MON - Monitoring Violation
  • RPT - Reporting Violation
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Code A full description of violation codes can be accessed in the SDWA_REF_CODE_VALUES (CSV) table.
Contaminant Code A code value that represents a contaminant for which a public water system has incurred a violation of a primary drinking water regulation.
Rule Code Code for a National Drinking Water rule.
  • 110 - Total Coliform Rule
  • 121 - Surface Water Treatment Rule
  • 122 - Long Term 1 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule
  • 123 - Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule
  • 130 - Filter Backwash Rule
  • 140 - Ground Water Rule
  • 210 - Stage 1 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule
  • 220 - Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule
  • 230 - Total Trihalomethanes
  • 310 - Volatile Organic Chemicals
  • 331 - Nitrates
  • 332 - Arsenic
  • 333 - Inorganic Chemicals
  • 320 - Synthetic Organic Chemicals
  • 340 - Radionuclides
  • 350 - Lead and Copper Rule
  • 410 - Public Notice Rule
  • 420 - Consumer Confidence Rule
  • 430 - Miscellaneous
  • 500 - Not Regulated
  • 111 - Revised Total Coliform Rule
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Rule Group Code Code that uniquely identifies a rule group.
  • 120 - Surface Water Treatment Rules
  • 130 - Filter Backwash Rule
  • 140 - Groundwater Rule
  • 210 - Stage 1 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule
  • 220 - Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule
  • 230 - Total Trihalomethanes
  • 310 - Volatile Organic Chemicals
  • 320 - Synthetic Organic Chemicals
  • 330 - Inorganic Chemicals
  • 340 - Radionuclides
  • 350 - Lead and Copper Rule
  • 400 - Other
  • 500 - Not Regulated
  • 110 - Total Coliform Rules
  • 410 - Public Notice Rule
  • 420 - Consumer Confidence Rule
  • 430 - Miscellaneous
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Rule Family Code Code for rule family.
  • 100 - Microbials
  • 200 - Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule
  • 300 - Chemicals
  • 400 - Other
  • 500 - Not Regulated
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For more clarification please visit the EPA's data dictionary.

Marquette Water - Frequently Asked Questions

HOW DO I CONTACT MARQUETTE CUSTOMER SERVICE?
To contact customer service for the Marquette water provider, Marquette, please use the information below.
By Mail: 17645 TYRONE AVE NW
KENT CITY, MI, 49330
HOW TO PAY BILL FOR MARQUETTE
Already have an account?

Existing customers can login to their Marquette account to pay their Marquette water bill by clicking here.

Want to create a new account?

If you want to pay your Marquette bill online and haven't made an account yet, you can create an account online. Please click here to create your account to pay your Marquette water bill.

Want to pay without an account?

If you don't want to make an account, or can't remember your account, you can make a one-time payment towards your Marquette water bill without creating an account using a one time payment portal with your account number and credit or debit card. Click here to make a one time payment.

HOW TO START & STOP MARQUETTE WATER SERVICE
Starting Your Service

Moving to a new house or apartment in Marquette means you will often need to put the water in your name with Marquette. In order to put the water in your name, please click the link to the start service form below. Start service requests for water bills typically take two business days.

Start Service Form

Want to create a new account?

Leaving your house or apartment in Marquette means you will likely need to take your name off of the water bill with Marquette. In order to take your name off the water bill, please click the link to the stop service form below. Stop service for water bills requests typically take two business days.

Stop Service Form

Is Marquette Tap Water Safe to Drink? Tap water & safety quality

The estimated price of bottled water

$1.80 in USD (1.5-liter)

USER SUBMITTED RATINGS

Marquette tap water
  • Drinking Water Pollution and Inaccessibility 29% Low
  • Water Pollution 57% Moderate
  • Drinking Water Quality and Accessibility 71% High
  • Water Quality 43% Moderate

The above data is comprised of subjective, user submitted opinions about the water quality and pollution in Marquette, measured on a scale from 0% (lowest) to 100% (highest).

Related FAQS

Contaminants


Marquette

EWG's drinking water quality report shows results of tests conducted by the water utility and provided to the Environmental Working Group by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, as well as information from the U.S. EPA Enforcement and Compliance History database (ECHO). For the latest quarter assessed by the U.S. EPA (January 2019 - March 2019), tap water provided by this water utility was in compliance with federal health-based drinking water standards.

Utility details

  • Serves: 21000
  • Data available: 2012-2017
  • Data Source: Surface water
  • Total: 6

Contaminants That Exceed Guidelines

  • Chromium (hexavalent)
  • Total trihalomethanes (TTHMs)

Other Detected Contaminants

  • Chlorate
  • Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
  • Strontium
  • Vanadium

Reminder

Always take extra precautions, the water may be safe to drink when it leaves the sewage treatment plant but it may pick up pollutants during its way to your tap. We advise that you ask locals or hotel staff about the water quality. Also, note that different cities have different water mineral contents.

Sources and Resources

Is tap water safe to drink in Marquette?

Yes, Marquette’s tap water is generally considered safe to drink as it met the EPA’s water quality mandates in its 2020 Water Quality Report. From April 1, 2018 to June 30, 2021 Marquette’s Marquette Utility has had one Safe Drinking Water Act Violation. One should not get sick from drinking Marquette tap water. 

Though Marquette’s tap water is generally safe to drink, one should consider the possible safety impacts of low levels of regulated contaminants, unregulated contaminants, and water quality issues caused by severe weather.

While Marquette’s tap water is generally safe to drink, long-term residents may consider using water filters for their everyday drinking, as the EPA is still assessing the health impacts of long-term exposure to certain contaminants that they do not yet have regulations for, and long term exposure to certain contaminants which are already regulated, but below the currently acceptable levels. 

Where Does Marquette Tap Water Come From?

According to Marquette’s 2020 Water Quality Report, Marquette Utility obtains water for its customers from several sources:

Water from Marquette comes from Lake Superior. The State assessed their source water to determine the susceptibility or the relative potential of contamination. The susceptibility rating is on a seven-tiered scale from “very low” to “very high” based on geologic sensitivity, water chemistry, and contamination sources. The susceptibility of their source water is moderate.

Main Contaminants Found in Marquette Tap Water

As we mentioned above, Marquette tap water meets the requirements set by the EPA. For more precise information please see their 2020 Water Quality Report. Though Marquette drinking water meets EPA standards that does not mean it is contaminant free as there are levels that the EPA considers acceptable. Though the EPA regulated contaminants must meet a certain threshold for the city’s water to be deemed acceptable, many are still present in the drinking water at some level. The EPA continues to evaluate the long term impacts of these chemicals as more research is available. For example, the rules around arsenic, as well as, lead and copper are currently being re-evaluated.

Additionally, there are a number of “emerging” contaminants that the EPA has not determined acceptable levels for and is currently researching. For example, Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), for which the EPA has issued a health advisory. PFAS are also called ‘forever chemicals’ since they tend not to break down in the environment or the human body and can accumulate over time. We do not yet fully understand the dangers of PFAS as they are currently being investigated. We do not have any information on PFAS in Marquette’s drink water, so there may be a risk of contamination.

Lead piping is another potential source of contamination for many homes, both through service lines and in your home. The National Resource Defense Council has a great walk-through on how to determine if you may have lead service lines.

So while Marquette’s tap water does meet the requirements set by the EPA, it still makes sense to try to purify the tap water further to reduce contaminants to lower levels.

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