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Is Utqiaġvik, AK tap water safe?

Barrow Utilities & Elec. Coop., Inc. (Bu serves Utqiaġvik, by EPA’s records. Here is what EPA’s records show for it, against the legal limits and the stricter health goals.

Matched to your utility using EPA records.

The short answer

Barrow Utilities & Elec. Coop., Inc. (Bu serves Utqiaġvik. In EPA’s records it has 2 results above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029, and 1 health-based violation since 2016.

The worst: PFOS at 46.3 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029.

Some homes in a town are on private wells or a small system of their own. The name on your water bill tells you which is yours.

What handles it

Each of these is certified, on a certifier’s listing, for a result above a line in Barrow Utilities & Elec. Coop., Inc. (Bu’s water.

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Every claim, and more filters, in the full report

Water testing near Utqiaġvik

A utility tests the water it sends out. A test of your own tap shows what your pipes add, and on a private well it is the only test there is. It takes a lab Alaska certifies.

No lab Alaska certifies is within 75 miles of Utqiaġvik on the state’s list. Some take samples by mail; the state’s page lists them all.

All 37 certified labs for Alaska

ZIP codes in Utqiaġvik

Which ZIP codes are in Utqiaġvik: Census 2020 relationship files. Which utilities serve them, and how many people: EPA SDWIS and EPA’s service area map. Each utility’s results: EPA UCMR 5, EPA SDWIS, and EPA’s and the state’s compliance monitoring, as its report lists them. How they are measured: methodology.

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