TapGraded ("we," "us," "our") is an independent publication that operates this website, tapgraded.com (the "Site"). These Terms of Use ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the Site. By using the Site, you agree to these Terms; if you do not agree, please do not use the Site. Primary contact: contact@tapgraded.com.
U.S. audience only. The Site covers United States public water systems and is intended for users in the United States. We do not offer goods or services to, or target, individuals outside the United States.
Quick summary
- We publish information about U.S. community water systems, derived from public EPA datasets, together with editorial content.
- The Tap Grade is our analysis of a system's public EPA record, computed by a published methodology. It is not a water test, not a safety determination, and not a statement about the water coming out of your tap right now.
- The Site is informational. It is not health, medical, legal, or engineering advice.
- Some filter-guide pages contain affiliate links. We may earn a commission when you buy through them; this never influences a grade.
- Data may be incomplete, delayed, or contain errors. Confirm important details with your utility.
- You agree not to misuse the Site, and the Site is provided "as is" with liability limited as described below.
About the Site
TapGraded turns public federal drinking-water data — primarily EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), ECHO exports, and UCMR5 occurrence data — into letter grades, rankings, and explanatory content. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, any state regulator, or any water utility, filter manufacturer, or laboratory referenced on the Site. References to those organizations and their data are for informational purposes only.
Tap Grades are analysis, not measurements
A Tap Grade is an opinion in the form of a score: it is computed mechanically from a water system's public EPA compliance record by the rubric published on our methodology page, and from nothing else. A grade is not:
- A laboratory measurement of anyone's water;
- A determination that any system's water is currently safe or unsafe to drink;
- A claim about water quality at any individual tap, which depends on household plumbing the underlying data cannot see.
EPA data is published with a lag and is occasionally corrected or restated by the reporting systems and agencies; a grade reflects the record as of the data vintage shown on the page. If you operate a water system and believe a grade misstates your public record, email contact@tapgraded.com with the PWSID and we will re-check it against the source data.
Informational use only — not advice
Content on the Site (grades, system pages, contaminant explainers, filter guides, well-water guides, rankings, tools, and blog articles) is provided for general informational purposes only. It is not health or medical advice, legal advice, or engineering advice, and it is no substitute for a certified laboratory test of your own water. For decisions about your health or your water, consult your utility's Consumer Confidence Report and a qualified professional.
Data accuracy
We make a reasonable effort to load, process, and present EPA data accurately, and we refresh it quarterly as new federal releases land. We cannot guarantee accuracy, completeness, or timeliness: federal data is published with a lag, reporting is sometimes amended, and our processing may contain errors. If you spot one, email contact@tapgraded.com — corrections are checked against the original sources and fixed promptly.
Affiliate links
Some pages — chiefly the water-filter guides — contain affiliate links to third-party retailers and filter brands, always marked as sponsored and accompanied by a disclosure. We may receive a commission when you click one or make a purchase through it. This is how the Site is funded. Affiliate relationships never influence a Tap Grade, a ranking, or which technologies a guide says remove a contaminant: those come from the data and from NSF/ANSI certification standards. A purchase you make from a third party is between you and that third party.
Third-party sites
The Site links to external websites, including EPA sources, state agencies, laboratories, and retailers. We do not control them and are not responsible for their content, accuracy, or privacy practices. Your use of a third-party site is at your own risk and subject to its own terms.
Acceptable use
When using the Site, you agree not to:
- Use the Site for any unlawful purpose or in violation of applicable law;
- Scrape, harvest, mirror, or systematically download substantial portions of the Site in a manner that conflicts with our robots.txt, rate limits, or other technical or written restrictions;
- Interfere with, probe, or disrupt the Site, its infrastructure, or its security;
- Submit content that is unlawful, deceptive, or contains malware;
- Impersonate any person or organization;
- Use automated agents to submit forms on the Site, including the alert signup.
We reserve the right to block, rate-limit, or revoke access to anyone who appears to violate these rules.
User submissions
The Site's interactive features are the water-alert signup (email and ZIP code) and correction emails. By submitting a correction, suggestion, or other content, you confirm it is yours to share and grant us a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual license to use it to operate and improve the Site (for example, quoting a correction when fixing a page). We are under no obligation to use or respond to any submission. What we do with signup data is described in the Privacy Policy.
Intellectual property
Underlying data derived from U.S. government sources is in the public domain. The editorial text, design, code, the Tap Grade methodology's expression, and the selection, normalization, and arrangement of data on the Site are ours and are protected by copyright and other intellectual-property laws. You may use the Site for personal, non-commercial purposes; republishing our pages or building derivative datasets from them requires written permission. Utility names and brands referenced on the Site belong to their respective owners and are used for identification only.
Copyright concerns (DMCA)
If you believe content on the Site infringes your copyright, send a notice complying with 17 U.S.C. §512(c) to contact@tapgraded.com, including: identification of the work and the allegedly infringing material (with a URL), your contact information, a good-faith statement that the use is unauthorized, a statement under penalty of perjury that your notice is accurate and you are authorized to act, and your physical or electronic signature.
Disclaimers
The Site and all content on it are provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind, express or implied. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, accuracy, completeness, and uninterrupted operation. Decisions you make based on the Site — including whether to drink, test, or treat your water — are your own.
Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, we will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages arising out of or relating to your use of the Site, even if advised of the possibility of such damages. Our total cumulative liability for all claims relating to the Site will not exceed one hundred U.S. dollars ($100). Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations of liability, so portions of this section may not apply to you.
Indemnification
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold us harmless from claims, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of your use of the Site in violation of these Terms or applicable law, any submission you provide, or your infringement of any third party's rights.
Termination
We may suspend or terminate access to the Site at any time, with or without notice, including for suspected violation of these Terms. Sections that by their nature should survive termination (intellectual property, disclaimers, limitation of liability, indemnification, governing law) survive.
Changes to the Site and to these Terms
We may change, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Site at any time, and may update these Terms. The "Last updated" date above reflects the latest revision; material changes will be posted on this page. Continued use of the Site after a change takes effect constitutes acceptance.
Governing law and venue
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles. The exclusive venue for any dispute arising out of or relating to the Site or these Terms is the state or federal courts located in Delaware. Nothing in this section limits non-waivable rights you may have under the laws of your home state.
Miscellaneous
- Entire agreement: These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, are the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Site.
- Severability: If any provision is held unenforceable, the rest remain in effect.
- No waiver: Not enforcing a provision is not a waiver of the right to enforce it later.
- Assignment: You may not assign these Terms; we may assign them in connection with a transfer of the Site.
Contact
TapGraded — contact@tapgraded.com