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Deer Creek WD

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
792 people
Connections
282
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Wheat Ridge, CO
County
Elbert
Owner
Private
The ZIP code it serves

80138

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit, and 2 more are above the health goal. The worst: Copper, above the action level. 1 health-based violation since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2022 to 2024.

Arsenic, uranium, nitrate, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride and chromium (total): Colorado’s own results, samples taken from Feb. 10, 2020 to Sept. 14, 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

1.7ppm

90th percentile, 2024

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 1.7 ppm, above EPA’s action level of 1.3 ppm.

What handles it

Above the health goal2

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

7.0ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026, one sample: 7.0 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 7.0 ppb, in 2020: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 7.0 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 8.0 ppb, in 2012.

What handles it

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

Uranium

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

5.2ppb

Highest yearly average, 2025

Averaged by year, the highest was 5.2 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 2.1 ppb, in 2014.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits4

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

7.7ppm

Highest sample; found in 28 of 28

2026 average: 5.4 ppm

The highest sample, in 2026, was 7.7 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. That was also the latest year on file, and its three samples averaged 5.4 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 5.1 ppm, in 2017.

What handles it

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

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

12.7ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026, one sample: 11.5 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 12.7 ppb, in 2025, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 11.5 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 12.9 ppb, in 2012.

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

8.1ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

Averaged by year, the highest was 8.1 ppb, in 2026, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 11.3 ppb, in 2017.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.37ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.37 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 0.45 ppm, in 2016.

What handles it

2 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Chromium (total)
  • 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.”

  • NSF/ANSI 53

    Claims: Copper Reduction, Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction

    For: Copper, Arsenic

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

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Copper Reduction, Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction, Uranium

    For: Copper, Arsenic, Uranium

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

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

The best reverse osmosis systems, ranked

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
Lead and Copper RuleOCCT/SOWT Treatment Installation/DemonstrationJuly 12, 2025—Resolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 3 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Arsenic, uranium, nitrate, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride and chromium (total) results here are Colorado’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Deer Creek WD’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. 10, 2020 to Sept. 14, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Deer Creek WD’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 Deer Creek WD serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Colorado Department of Health & Environment

    Denver, CO · about 18 miles

    Certified for bacteria

  • SGS North America, Inc. - Denver

    Denver, CO · about 21 miles

    Certified for nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics

  • Colorado Analytical Laboratory - Commerce City

    Commerce City, CO · about 28 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts, PFAS, radioactivity

All 54 certified labs for Colorado

Sources

PWSID CO0120246. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Elbert County

All Colorado utilities

What to do next