Overview

MTBE was used as gasoline oxygenation additive to boost the octane number. In 2005, MTBE was replaced by ethanol as a gasoline additive. MTBE causes cancers in rats.

State, National, and Health Guidelines for Drinking Water

EWG Health Guideline: 13 ppb

The EWG Health Guideline of 13 ppb for MTBE was defined by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment as a public health goal, the level of a drinking water contaminant that does not pose a significant health risk. This health guideline protects against cancer.

ppb = parts per billion

National Standard Exists

Health Concerns:

Cancer

Want to remove
MTBE from your water?

Try these filter technologies:

Activated Carbon,

Reverse Osmosis,

understand filter technology

MTBE around the Country

	UTILITIES WITH CONTAMINATION
State	Utilities	People Served
New Jersey		39	704,836
New York		20	636,366
California		10	457,827
Delaware		14	335,979
Massachusetts		18	142,363
Rhode Island		6	101,628
Wisconsin		24	101,275
South Carolina		9	53,363
Illinois		5	30,555
Florida		1	24,464
Missouri		7	21,296
Pennsylvania		2	18,604
Maryland		9	18,590
Texas		9	18,528
Arkansas		5	17,348
Virginia		4	17,078
Indiana		5	15,323
Nebraska		4	13,481
Alabama		1	12,060
Iowa		6	11,143
Kansas		5	9,732
Georgia		13	4,564
West Virginia		1	942
Connecticut		3	597
Maine		5	480
Vermont		2	160

SHOW LESS

Utilities with the highest amounts of MTBE, 2021-2023

ALL UTILITIES

LARGE UTILITIES

Utility	Location	Tests	Average level	People served
Smithville	Smithville, GA	8 of 8	15.4 ppb	699
Palmer Center Ugarc	Kingston, NY	6 of 14	7.45 ppb	30
Cumberland County Water System	Dillwyn, VA	2 of 2	7.30 ppb	1,840
A B C Mobile Home Park	Plantation, GA	6 of 6	6.78 ppb	78
Marston PWS	Marston, MO	22 of 24	6.66 ppb	500
Rutland Station	Gray, GA	1 of 1	6.00 ppb	103
Rockport Water	Rockport, IN	1 of 1	5.40 ppb	2,520
Deforest Waterworks	Deforest, WI	10 of 17	5.21 ppb	9,400
Cassatt Water Kershaw-lee Company RWA	Cassatt, SC	9 of 15	5.12 ppb	25,061
River Lake Subdivision	Mequon, WI	5 of 5	5.10 ppb	100
Woodville	Woodville, GA	3 of 3	5.10 ppb	380
Picnic Grove Mobile Homes	Pittsgove, NJ	21 of 24	4.52 ppb	250
Hartford	Hartford, IL	3 of 3	4.20 ppb	1,450
Fitchburg Utility District 1	Fitchburg, WI	1 of 1	4.00 ppb	15,000
Wyoming Water System	Wyoming, IA	2 of 2	3.95 ppb	523
Longview Trailer Park	South Boston, VA	3 of 5	3.68 ppb	55
Theresa Waterworks	Theresa, WI	2 of 2	3.60 ppb	1,262
North Concord LLC	Keene, VT	3 of 3	3.40 ppb	60
Norcross Mobile Home Village	Farmington Hills, GA	1 of 3	3.13 ppb	543
Whispering Pines Mobile Home Park	, MD	3 of 3	2.96 ppb	325
Newfield Water Department	Wenonah, NJ	3 of 4	2.68 ppb	1,616
Holly Green Campground	Franklinville, NJ	1 of 2	2.68 ppb	140
City of Chico	Chico, TX	3 of 9	2.65 ppb	1,596
Waunakee Waterworks	Waunakee, WI	4 of 4	2.59 ppb	13,322
Lake Barrington Shores Subdivsion	Lake Barrington, IL	1 of 1	2.50 ppb	2,300
And-tro Water Authority - District 1	Tell City, IN	14 of 14	2.46 ppb	2,763
Troy Township Water Association	Tell City, IN	14 of 14	2.46 ppb	700
Tell City Water Department*	Tell City, IN	14 of 14	2.46 ppb	9,315
Gander Woods Pump District	Dover, DE	13 of 14	2.36 ppb	42
Kennett	Kennett, MO	25 of 51	2.34 ppb	10,500
Mills Mobile Home Park 1&2	Lexington, SC	13 of 13	2.09 ppb	30
Klondike Independent School District	Lamesa, TX	3 of 3	2.01 ppb	311
Lacrosse, City of	La Crosse, KS	1 of 1	2.00 ppb	1,232
Laurel Village Mobile Home Park	Laurel, DE	18 of 19	1.98 ppb	918
City of Torrance Water Department	Torrance, CA	110 of 607	1.96 ppb	106,183
Chambers, Village of	Chambers, NE	1 of 4	1.94 ppb	288
Elsberry PWS	Elsberry, MO	5 of 9	1.87 ppb	2,051
City of Gustine	Gustine, TX	3 of 3	1.87 ppb	457
Ridge Spring, Town of*	Ridge Spring, SC	8 of 8	1.79 ppb	1,351
Monetta, Town of	Monetta, SC	8 of 8	1.79 ppb	974
Lakewood Twp MUA	Lakewood, NJ	15 of 21	1.62 ppb	27,614
Kalona Water Department	Kalona, IA	8 of 8	1.60 ppb	2,630
Browns Lake Mobile Home Ct	Burlington, WI	5 of 5	1.45 ppb	225
California Water Service (CWS) - Salinas	San Jose, CA	6 of 109	1.45 ppb	113,086
West Milford Township Municipal Utilities Authority - Birch Hill Park	Highland Lakes, NJ	3 of 3	1.42 ppb	180
Home Town Village Of Cool Branch	Seaford, DE	3 of 3	1.40 ppb	654
Cherry Creek Valley	Rehoboth Beach, DE	8 of 8	1.32 ppb	78
Lillinonah Park Estates Homeowners Association	New Milford, CT	1 of 1	1.30 ppb	128
Marshwood Estates	Sparta, ME	1 of 1	1.30 ppb	233
Chaffee PWS	Chaffee, MO	7 of 12	1.26 ppb	3,000

* This water utility supplies finished drinking water to at least one other water utility. The purchasing utility is not required to test for or report MTBE, but it likely has the contaminant in its water supply.

Utility	Location	Tests	Average level	People served
Cassatt Water Kershaw-lee Company RWA	Cassatt, SC	9 of 15	5.12 ppb	25,061
Fitchburg Utility District 1	Fitchburg, WI	1 of 1	4.00 ppb	15,000
Waunakee Waterworks	Waunakee, WI	4 of 4	2.59 ppb	13,322
Kennett	Kennett, MO	25 of 51	2.34 ppb	10,500
City of Torrance Water Department	Torrance, CA	110 of 607	1.96 ppb	106,183
Lakewood Twp MUA	Lakewood, NJ	15 of 21	1.62 ppb	27,614
California Water Service (CWS) - Salinas	San Jose, CA	6 of 109	1.45 ppb	113,086
Forrest City Waterworks*	Forrest City, AR	8 of 23	1.13 ppb	11,691
Mc Henry	Mchenry, IL	5 of 7	0.971 ppb	22,335
NJ American Water - Atlantic County	Egg Harbor Township, NJ	10 of 61	0.957 ppb	120,146
Concord Water Department	Concord, MA	4 of 18	0.869 ppb	16,402
City of Los Banos	Los Banos, CA	11 of 23	0.754 ppb	46,639
Webster Water Department	Webster, MA	13 of 33	0.598 ppb	16,767
Collingswood Water Depar	Pennsauken, NJ	14 of 21	0.537 ppb	24,500
Southeast Morris County Municipal Utilities Authority*	Cedar Knolls, NJ	10 of 49	0.521 ppb	62,349
Old Bridge Municipal Utilities Authority*	Old Bridge, NJ	4 of 7	0.501 ppb	67,215
Aqua NJ - Hamilton Square*	Hamilton, NJ	14 of 24	0.493 ppb	39,128
Willingboro MUA*	Willingbor0, NJ	6 of 13	0.442 ppb	35,000
TUD - Sonora/Jamestown Water System*	Sonora, CA	1 of 2	0.380 ppb	10,814
Breezy Hill WD	Graniteville, SC	9 of 27	0.378 ppb	15,282
West Escambia Utilities Inc.	Atmore, AL	5 of 42	0.340 ppb	12,060
Manchester Twp Water Utility - Western*	Manchester Twp, NJ	3 of 9	0.304 ppb	15,613
Dix Hills Water District	Huntington, NY	1 of 1	0.280 ppb	34,522
Vineland Water & Sewer Utility	Vineland, NJ	42 of 79	0.262 ppb	36,250
Front Royal	Front Royal, VA	1 of 4	0.250 ppb	15,000
Middletown Water Department*	Middletown, DE	8 of 63	0.237 ppb	17,700
Artesian Water Company*	Newark, DE	8 of 63	0.237 ppb	301,000
Barnegat Twp Water Sewer	Barnegat, NJ	2 of 8	0.228 ppb	20,000
Oconomowoc Waterworks	Oconomowoc, WI	1 of 1	0.220 ppb	15,805
Ocean Pines	Berlin, MD	1 of 8	0.219 ppb	11,890
Liberty New York Water - Lynbrook	Merrick, NY	70 of 461	0.217 ppb	220,000
West Valley Water District*	Rialto, CA	18 of 321	0.206 ppb	98,055
Cedarburg L & W Commission	Cedarburg, WI	5 of 8	0.156 ppb	11,900
Garden City Park WD	Garden City Park, NY	24 of 236	0.135 ppb	18,000
Merchantville Pennsauken	Pennsauken, NJ	6 of 50	0.122 ppb	47,144
City of Granbury	Granbury, TX	1 of 36	0.116 ppb	10,080
Peoples Water Service Company	Pensacola, FL	1 of 4	0.108 ppb	24,464
Westborough Water Department	Westborough, MA	1 of 40	0.0700 ppb	18,272
Park Ridge Water Department	Park Ridge, NJ	9 of 103	0.0618 ppb	16,466
Fulton City	Fulton, NY	1 of 11	0.0500 ppb	16,600
Burlington Twp W Department	Burlington, NJ	2 of 5	0.0460 ppb	22,594
Gloucester City W Department	Gloucester, NJ	1 of 12	0.0442 ppb	12,460
Quakertown Boro	Quakertown, PA	3 of 39	0.0428 ppb	12,800
Kent County Water Authority*	West Warwick, RI	1 of 16	0.0313 ppb	88,779
United Water Camden	Camden, NJ	5 of 24	0.0308 ppb	46,585
Washington Township MUA	Turnersville, NJ	1 of 37	0.0295 ppb	48,000
Garden City	Garden City, NY	16 of 382	0.0266 ppb	46,000
City of Upland*	Upland, CA	1 of 194	0.0227 ppb	78,376
Wilmington Water Department	Wilmington, MA	2 of 21	0.0181 ppb	22,325
Auburn Water District	Auburn, MA	1 of 48	0.0104 ppb	11,763

EWG’s Tap
Water Database

Nitrate in
Tap Water

CONTAMINANT

MTBE

STATES DETECTED

26

serves

2.8 million

utilities detected

227

states detected

0

serves

0

utilities detected

0

Overview

State, National, and Health Guidelines for Drinking Water

National Standard Exists

Health Concerns:

Want to remove
MTBE from your water?

MTBE around the Country

Utilities with the highest amounts of MTBE, 2021-2023

Know the Standards

Take Action

Need help finding a filter?

We’re in this together

Protect your water

EWG’s TapWater Database

CONTAMINANT

MTBE

STATES DETECTED

26

serves

2.8 million

utilities detected

227

states detected

0

serves

0

utilities detected

0

Overview

State, National, and Health Guidelines for Drinking Water

National Standard Exists

Health Concerns:

Want to removeMTBE from your water?

MTBE around the Country

Utilities with the highest amounts of MTBE, 2021-2023

Know the Standards

Take Action

Need help finding a filter?

We’re in this together

Protect your water

EWG’s Tap
Water Database

Want to remove
MTBE from your water?