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Forest Lakes MD

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
1,049 people
Connections
443
Water source
Surface water
Based in
Colorado Springs, CO
County
El Paso
Owner
Private
The ZIP code it serves

80132

The short answer

1 result is above the limit’s level with no violation recorded, and 1 more is above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic, above the limit’s level, no violation. No health-based violations on file since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Arsenic, uranium, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride, chromium (total) and nitrate: Colorado’s own results, samples taken from Aug. 6, 2020 to Aug. 13, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the limit’s level, no violation recorded1

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the limit’s level, no violation

26ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 26 ppb, in 2022, about 2.6 times EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample. EPA judges this limit on running averages at each sampling point, and recorded no violation for arsenic at this utility since 2020. Results like these with no violation often include water sampled before treatment or blending; the utility’s annual report says what reaches the tap.

What handles it

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

Above the health goal1

Uranium

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

0.25ppb

Highest yearly average, 2024 to 2025

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.25 ppb, in 2025: below EPA’s legal limit of 30 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. Its highest single sample was 0.7 ppb. That was also the latest year on file.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits4

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

77.2ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 16.3 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 77.2 ppb, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 16.3 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 70.2 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

45.9ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 10.3 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 45.9 ppb, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 10.3 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 22.6 ppb, in 2019.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

1.7ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026, one sample: 1.4 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.7 ppm, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 1.4 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 1.6 ppm, in 2019.

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 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. Its highest single sample was 3.0 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample.

What handles it

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

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

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

    For: Arsenic, Uranium

    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

Compare five-year costs

The best reverse osmosis systems, ranked

Violations since 2016

No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016. There are 7 monitoring or reporting violations: a sample missed, late or not reported.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Arsenic, uranium, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride, chromium (total) and nitrate results here are Colorado’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Forest Lakes MD’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. 6, 2020 to Aug. 13, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Forest Lakes MD’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 Forest Lakes MD serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • El Paso County Health Department

    Colorado Springs, CO · about 15 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, minerals and other inorganics

  • Colorado Department of Health & Environment

    Denver, CO · about 43 miles

    Certified for bacteria

  • SGS North America, Inc. - Denver

    Denver, CO · about 48 miles

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

All 54 certified labs for Colorado

Sources

PWSID CO0121360. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in El Paso County

All Colorado utilities

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