Ft Garland 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
- 477 people
- Connections
- 286
- Water source
- Groundwater
- Based in
- Ft Garland, CO
- County
- Costilla
- Owner
- Local government
The ZIP code it serves
The short answer
Nothing in EPA’s and Colorado’s records for this utility is above a health goal. That covers nitrate, arsenic and other regulated chemicals, plus lead and copper, not everything. No health-based violations on file since 2016.
What was found
Nitrate, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), fluoride, chromium (total), arsenic, haloacetic acids (HAA5) and uranium: Colorado’s own results, samples taken from May 26, 2020 to Dec. 22, 2025, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.
Below EPA’s limits4
Nitrate
Comes from the source
1.3ppm
Highest sample; found in 7 of 8
2025 average: 0.41 ppm
The highest sample, in 2022, was 1.3 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2025, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 0.41 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 1.2 ppm, in 2012.
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
5.4ppb
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2024
Averaged by year, the highest was 5.4 ppb, in 2024, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 3.9 ppb, in 2012.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
Fluoride
Forms or is added in treatment
0.13ppm
Highest yearly average, 2022 to 2024
2024, one sample: 0.12 ppm
Averaged by year, the highest was 0.13 ppm, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2024, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.12 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.15 ppm, in 2013.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Fluoride Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Fluoride”
Chromium (total)
Comes from the source
3.0ppb
Highest yearly average, 2022 to 2025
Averaged by year, the highest was 3.0 ppb, in 2025, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. Its highest single sample was 4.0 ppb. That was also the latest year on file.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Chromium (Hexavalent) Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Chromium Reduction”
4 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
- Arsenic
- Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
- Lead
- Uranium
Violations since 2016
No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016. There are 22 monitoring or reporting violations: a sample missed, late or not reported.
What this report can’t tell you
Everything else. Nitrate, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), fluoride, chromium (total), arsenic, haloacetic acids (HAA5) and uranium results here are Colorado’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Ft Garland 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 May 26, 2020 to Dec. 22, 2025.
Testing your own tap
The 2 labs Colorado certifies closest to the area Ft Garland WSD serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Sangre De Cristo Laboratory
Alamosa, CO · about 29 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics
Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment
Pueblo, CO · about 69 miles
Certified for bacteria
Sources
- EPA UCMR 5 occurrence data, file of Oct. 15, 2026
- EPA SDWA bulk download (SDWIS federal data), 2026 Q3
- Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Water Quality Control Division, results from Jan. 3, 2020 to Oct. 6, 2026, read Oct. 17, 2026
- EPA Six-Year Review 4 compliance monitoring data, 2012 to 2019, file of Feb. 5, 2024
- Certified labs: CDPHE certified drinking water laboratories, read Oct. 16, 2026; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer
- Limits and goals: each contaminant’s page, with its EPA source.
- How this page is built: methodology.
PWSID CO0112500. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.
What to do next
- Nothing here is above a health goalIn EPA’s and Colorado’s records for this utility. They don’t cover everything, which is why the next step matters.Every contaminant TapBuff tracks
- Get the utility’s own reportFt Garland WSD must send you a water quality report every year. It covers contaminants this page does not show.How to read it
- Test your own tap for leadYour service line, solder and fixtures decide the lead at your faucet, not the utility’s average.Lead in your water: what to do
- Decide if you want a filter at allA filter for taste or chlorine is a preference, not a need. The standards say what each kind can do.NSF/ANSI standards, decoded