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Bristol WSD

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
151 people
Connections
67
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Bristol, CO
County
Prowers
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

81047

The short answer

1 result is above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic, above the health goal. 8 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Arsenic, fluoride, nitrate, chromium (total), haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and uranium: Colorado’s own results, samples taken from Aug. 17, 2020 to Aug. 10, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the health goal1

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

2.0ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2025

Averaged by year, the highest was 2.0 ppb, in 2025: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. That was also the latest year on file.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”

Below EPA’s limits3

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

1.3ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.3 ppm, in 2026, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 1.4 ppm, in 2013.

What handles it

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

1.1ppm

Highest sample; found in 2 of 6

2026: not found

The highest sample, in 2022, was 1.1 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. 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 sample of 0.071 ppm, in 2012.

What handles it

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

Chromium (total)

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

7.0ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2025

2025, one sample: 5.0 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 7.0 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. In 2025, the latest year on file, its one sample was 5.0 ppb.

What handles it

4 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
  • Lead
  • Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)
  • Uranium

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.”

  • NSF/ANSI 53

    Claim: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction

    For: Arsenic

    Other certifiers’ wording: Arsenic (III) (50 ppb influent level)

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claim: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction

    For: Arsenic

    Other certifiers’ wording: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=300 ppb Reduction; Arsenic (V) (300 ppb influent level)

At the tap, or for the whole house?

These come with the water itself, so a whole-house system certified for the same claims treats every tap and shower. A filter at the tap treats drinking water for much less. 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

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The best reverse osmosis systems, ranked

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
Combined Radium (-226 and -228)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2026 to March 31, 20266.0 PCI/LArchived
Stage 1 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts RuleTreatment was not run by a certified operator as required.EPA: Treatment Technique No Certif. OperatorMarch 1, 2022—Resolved
Stage 1 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts RuleTreatment was not run by a certified operator as required.EPA: Treatment Technique No Certif. OperatorJan. 16, 2022—Resolved
Combined Radium (-226 and -228)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2021 to Dec. 31, 20216.8 PCI/LResolved
Combined Radium (-226 and -228)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2021 to Sept. 30, 20216.0 PCI/LResolved
Combined Radium (-226 and -228)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2021 to June 30, 20216.5 PCI/LResolved
Revised Total Coliform RuleColiform results required a check of the system, and the check or its fixes were not done on time.EPA: Treatment Technique, Level 1 Assessment (RTCR)Nov. 29, 2019—Resolved
Stage 1 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts RuleTreatment was not run by a certified operator as required.EPA: Treatment Technique No Certif. OperatorApril 1, 2016—Resolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 106 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Arsenic, fluoride, nitrate, chromium (total), haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and uranium results here are Colorado’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Bristol WSD’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 Aug. 17, 2020 to Aug. 10, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Bristol WSD’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.

No lab Colorado certifies is within 75 miles of the area Bristol WSD serves on the state’s list. Some take samples by mail; the state’s page lists them all.

All 54 certified labs for Colorado

Sources

PWSID CO0150200. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Prowers County

All Colorado utilities

What to do next