Skip to content
TapBuff
ZIP

Divide South

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
74 people
Connections
32
Water source
Groundwater influenced by surface water
Based in
Divide, CO
County
Teller
Owner
Private

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. 15 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2010 to 2023.

Haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, arsenic, chromium (total) and uranium: Colorado’s own results, samples taken from Aug. 5, 2020 to Aug. 6, 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

1.6ppm

90th percentile, 2023

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 1.6 ppm, above EPA’s action level of 1.3 ppm.

What handles it

Above the health goal1

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

0.8ppb

90th percentile, 2026

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 0.8 ppb, below EPA’s action level of 15 ppb. The action level drops to 10 ppb on Nov. 1, 2027. EPA’s health goal for lead is zero.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits4

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

56.6ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 17.8 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 56.6 ppb, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 116 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 17.8 ppb. EPA recorded no violation for haloacetic acids (HAA5) at this utility since 2020. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 13.8 ppb, in 2014.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

1.9ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2022

2022, one sample: 1.8 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.9 ppm, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2022, the latest year on file, its one sample was 1.8 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 1.9 ppm, in 2015.

What handles it

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

24.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 11.5 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 24.8 ppb, in 2025, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 66.7 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 11.5 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 15.1 ppb, in 2014.

What handles it

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

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.14ppm

Highest sample; found in 1 of 7

2026: not found

The highest sample, in 2020, was 0.14 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 0.16 ppm, in 2012.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”
3 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Arsenic
  • Chromium (total)
  • 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

    Claims: Copper Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: Copper, Lead

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Copper Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: Copper, 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

The best water filters for lead, ranked

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment RuleToo many readings in a month showed cloudiness above the filtration standard.EPA: Monthly Turbidity Exceed (Enhanced SWTR)July 1, 2025 to July 31, 2025—Resolved
Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment RuleToo many readings in a month showed cloudiness above the filtration standard.EPA: Monthly Turbidity Exceed (Enhanced SWTR)June 1, 2025 to June 30, 2025—Resolved
Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment RuleToo many readings in a month showed cloudiness above the filtration standard.EPA: Monthly Turbidity Exceed (Enhanced SWTR)May 1, 2025 to May 31, 2025—Resolved
Lead and Copper RuleOCCT/SOWT Treatment Installation/DemonstrationMarch 25, 2025—Unaddressed
Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment RuleToo many readings in a month showed cloudiness above the filtration standard.EPA: Monthly Turbidity Exceed (Enhanced SWTR)July 1, 2024 to July 31, 2024—Resolved
Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment RuleToo many readings in a month showed cloudiness above the filtration standard.EPA: Monthly Turbidity Exceed (Enhanced SWTR)June 1, 2024 to June 30, 2024—Resolved
Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment RuleToo many readings in a month showed cloudiness above the filtration standard.EPA: Monthly Turbidity Exceed (Enhanced SWTR)May 1, 2024 to May 31, 2024—Resolved
Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment RuleToo many readings in a month showed cloudiness above the filtration standard.EPA: Monthly Turbidity Exceed (Enhanced SWTR)Aug. 1, 2023 to Aug. 31, 2023—Resolved
Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment RuleToo many readings in a month showed cloudiness above the filtration standard.EPA: Monthly Turbidity Exceed (Enhanced SWTR)July 1, 2023 to July 31, 2023—Resolved
Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment RuleToo many readings in a month showed cloudiness above the filtration standard.EPA: Monthly Turbidity Exceed (Enhanced SWTR)June 1, 2023 to June 30, 2023—Resolved
Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment RuleToo many readings in a month showed cloudiness above the filtration standard.EPA: Monthly Turbidity Exceed (Enhanced SWTR)Sept. 1, 2022 to Sept. 30, 2022—Resolved
Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment RuleToo many readings in a month showed cloudiness above the filtration standard.EPA: Monthly Turbidity Exceed (Enhanced SWTR)June 1, 2021 to June 30, 2021—Resolved
Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment RuleToo many readings in a month showed cloudiness above the filtration standard.EPA: Monthly Turbidity Exceed (Enhanced SWTR)July 1, 2016 to July 31, 2016—Resolved
Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment RuleToo many readings in a month showed cloudiness above the filtration standard.EPA: Monthly Turbidity Exceed (Enhanced SWTR)June 1, 2016 to June 30, 2016—Resolved
Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment RuleToo many readings in a month showed cloudiness above the filtration standard.EPA: Monthly Turbidity Exceed (Enhanced SWTR)May 1, 2016 to May 31, 2016—Resolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 24 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, arsenic, chromium (total) and uranium results here are Colorado’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Divide South’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. 5, 2020 to Aug. 6, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Divide South’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 Divide South 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 CO0160275. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Teller County

All Colorado utilities

What to do next