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Highland Lakes 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
875 people
Connections
378
Water source
Groundwater influenced by surface water
Based in
Divide, CO
County
Teller
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

80814

The short answer

2 results are above the health goal. The worst: Lead, above the health goal. 3 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2022 to 2026.

Uranium, nitrate, fluoride, haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM), arsenic and chromium (total): Colorado’s own results, samples taken from Jan. 26, 2020 to Sept. 21, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the health goal2

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

2.0ppb

90th percentile, 2026

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 2.0 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

Uranium

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

3.2ppb

Highest yearly average, 2025

Averaged by year, the highest was 3.2 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 4.8 ppb, in 2019.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits4

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

8.9ppm

Highest sample; found in 80 of 81

2026 average: 7.5 ppm

The highest sample, in 2020, was 8.9 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its nine samples averaged 7.5 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 12.7 ppm, in 2014, and EPA recorded violations in 2013 and 2014.

What handles it

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

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

1.2ppm

Highest yearly average, 2022

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.2 ppm, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. Its highest single sample was 1.3 ppm. That is the only year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 1.6 ppm, in 2012.

What handles it

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

15.2ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 4.5 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 15.2 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 37 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 4.5 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 8.9 ppb, in 2015.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

18.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 17 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 18.8 ppb, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 35.2 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 17 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 22.8 ppb, in 2015.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
2 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Arsenic
  • Chromium (total)

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.”

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)April 1, 2026 to April 30, 2026—Resolved
Surface Water Treatment RuleWater drawn from a river, lake or reservoir was not filtered as required.EPA: Failure to Filter (SWTR)March 16, 2023—Resolved
Surface Water Treatment RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Dec. 1, 2022 to Dec. 31, 2022—Resolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 37 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Uranium, nitrate, fluoride, haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM), arsenic and chromium (total) results here are Colorado’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Highland Lakes 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 Jan. 26, 2020 to Sept. 21, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Highland Lakes 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 Highland Lakes WD 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 21 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, minerals and other inorganics

  • GeoWater Services

    Evergreen, CO · about 48 miles

    Certified for bacteria

  • Colorado Department of Health & Environment

    Denver, CO · about 55 miles

    Certified for bacteria

All 54 certified labs for Colorado

Sources

PWSID CO0160200. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Teller County

All Colorado utilities

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