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Elizabeth Dunbar
St. Paul, Minn.

Texas trumps Minnesota in tap water quality rankings

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Minneapolis and St. Paul are among the twenty large cities with the cleanest tap water in the country, according to a study by an environmental group.

Minneapolis ranked No. 10, and St. Paul was No. 17 in the Environmental Working Group's study of cities with populations of 250,000 or more.

The organization rated the cities based on three factors: number of chemicals detected, percentage of chemicals found, and the highest average level for an individual pollutant such as disinfection byproducts and arsenic. The pollutant levels were compared with legal limits or national averages.

The Environmental Working Group used nearly 20 million water tests and other records since 2004 from state officials to reach its conclusions.

Overall, the group found 316 pollutants in big cities' tap water, and it said more than half of the chemicals detected are not subject to health or safety regulations.

Of the 100 cities ranked by the group, Pensacola, Fla.; Riverside, Calif.; and Las Vegas received the lowest ratings. Arlington, Texas; Providence, R.I.; and Fort Worth, Texas were rated highest.