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Big Elk Meadows WA

What EPA’s and Colorado’s records show in this utility’s water: nitrate, arsenic and other regulated chemicals; lead and copper; and violations since 2016, with the certification that handles each result.

Serves
405 people
Connections
157
Water source
Surface water
Based in
Ft Morgan, CO
County
Larimer
Owner
Private
The ZIP code it serves

80540

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit, and 1 more is above the health goal. The worst: Copper, above the action level. 8 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 1993 to 2025.

Uranium, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), nitrate, fluoride, chromium (total) and arsenic: Colorado’s own results, samples taken from Feb. 20, 2020 to Aug. 17, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the legal limit1

Copper

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the action level

1.4ppm

90th percentile, 2025

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 1.4 ppm, above EPA’s action level of 1.3 ppm.

What handles it

Above the health goal1

Uranium

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

1.2ppb

Highest yearly average, 2025

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.2 ppb, in 2025: below EPA’s legal limit of 30 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. That is the only year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 9.8 ppb, in 2014.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits5

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

70.1ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 34.5 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 70.1 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 145 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 34.5 ppb. EPA recorded no violation for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at this utility since 2020. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 53.6 ppb, in 2019.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

37.3ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 18.5 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 37.3 ppb, in 2025, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 52.8 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 18.5 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 28.1 ppb, in 2019.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

2.0ppm

Highest sample; found in 7 of 7

2026, one sample: 1.1 ppm

The highest sample, in 2025, was 2.0 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 1.1 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 1.3 ppm, in 2019.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.37ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026, one sample: 0.36 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.37 ppm, in 2025, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.36 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.41 ppm, in 2017.

What handles it

Chromium (total)

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

2.0ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 2.0 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 1.0 ppb, in 2019.

What handles it

2 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Arsenic
  • Lead

What handles it

A certification covers specific claims, not a whole standard. Look for these claims on the certifier’s listing, not the box. Wording varies a little: NSF writes “Lead Reduction,” WQA just “Lead.”

At the tap, or for the whole house?

Lead and copper usually come from pipes and fixtures inside or near your home. A whole-house system sits where water enters, so it cannot catch what your own plumbing adds after it. For those, the filter that counts is the one at the tap. How whole-house systems compare.

Filters with those claims on a certifier’s listing

Disclosure: TapBuff earns a commission if you buy through some links on this page. It does not change which standard or filter we name. As an Amazon Associate, TapBuff earns from qualifying purchases. How TapBuff makes money

Compare five-year costs

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
Lead and Copper RuleA required study or plan for corrosion control was not done on time.EPA: OCCT/SOWT Study/RecommendationJan. 1, 2026—Resolved
Groundwater RuleA significant problem found in a state inspection was not fixed on time.EPA: Failure To Address DeficiencyNov. 4, 2018—Resolved
Groundwater RuleA significant problem found in a state inspection was not fixed on time.EPA: Failure To Address DeficiencyNov. 4, 2018—Resolved
Groundwater RuleA significant problem found in a state inspection was not fixed on time.EPA: Failure To Address DeficiencyNov. 4, 2018—Resolved
Groundwater RuleA significant problem found in a state inspection was not fixed on time.EPA: Failure To Address DeficiencyNov. 4, 2018—Resolved
Lead and Copper RuleA required study or plan for corrosion control was not done on time.EPA: OCCT/SOWT Study/RecommendationApril 1, 2017—Resolved
Stage 1 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts RuleTreatment was not run by a certified operator as required.EPA: Treatment Technique No Certif. OperatorApril 1, 2017—Resolved
Lead and Copper RuleRequired information about lead was not given to customers.EPA: Public EducationDec. 1, 2016—Resolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 31 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Uranium, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), nitrate, fluoride, chromium (total) and arsenic results here are Colorado’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Big Elk Meadows WA’s own annual report, which it must send you every year, has the contaminants this page does not show.

  • Your own plumbing. Lead results are the 90th percentile across homes the utility samples. Your home’s service line, solder and fixtures decide yours. A certified lab test is the only way to know.

  • What it means for your health. This page reports what the records show and EPA’s limits and goals; it is not medical advice. If you are worried about a health effect, talk to a doctor or your local health department.

  • Anything after the latest data. SDWIS data is from 2026 Q3; UCMR 5 didn’t sample this utility; Colorado’s results run from Feb. 20, 2020 to Aug. 17, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Big Elk Meadows WA’s results are for the water it sends out. What your own service line, solder and fixtures add shows up only in a test of your tap, by a lab Colorado certifies.

The 3 labs Colorado certifies closest to the area Big Elk Meadows WA serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • EAnalytics Laboratory

    Loveland, CO · about 23 miles

    Certified for bacteria

  • M.M.S Environmental Laboratories

    Fort Collins, CO · about 23 miles

    Certified for bacteria

  • Technology Laboratory, Inc.

    Fort Collins, CO · about 23 miles

    Certified for nitrate, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals

All 54 certified labs for Colorado

Sources

PWSID CO0135143. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Larimer County

All Colorado utilities

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