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Little Elk Creek

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
150 people
Connections
78
Water source
Groundwater influenced by surface water
Based in
Snowmass, CO
County
Pitkin
Owner
Private
The ZIP code it serves

81654

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 2012 to 2023.

Uranium, haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, arsenic, chromium (total) and fluoride: Colorado’s own results, samples taken from Jan. 21, 2020 to Aug. 11, 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

1.4ppm

90th percentile, 2023

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 1.4 ppm, above EPA’s action level of 1.3 ppm.

What handles it

Above the health goal1

Uranium

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

2.0ppb

Highest yearly average, 2025

Averaged by year, the highest was 2.0 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 1.5 ppb, in 2017.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits3

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

10.7ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026, one sample: 5.6 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 10.7 ppb, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 5.6 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 7.6 ppb, in 2017.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

11.9ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

Averaged by year, the highest was 11.9 ppb, in 2026, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 13 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 10 ppb, in 2017.

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

0.7ppm

Highest sample; found in 6 of 7

2026, one sample: 0.2 ppm

The highest sample, in 2021, was 0.7 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.2 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 0.89 ppm, in 2014.

What handles it

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

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

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)Oct. 1, 2025 to Oct. 31, 2025—Resolved
Surface Water Treatment RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Feb. 1, 2017 to Feb. 28, 2017—Resolved
Surface Water Treatment RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Jan. 1, 2017 to Jan. 31, 2017—Resolved
Surface Water Treatment RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Dec. 1, 2016 to Dec. 31, 2016—Resolved
Surface Water Treatment RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Nov. 1, 2016 to Nov. 30, 2016—Resolved
Surface Water Treatment RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Oct. 1, 2016 to Oct. 31, 2016—Resolved
Surface Water Treatment RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Sept. 1, 2016 to Sept. 30, 2016—Resolved
Surface Water Treatment RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Aug. 1, 2016 to Aug. 31, 2016—Resolved
Surface Water Treatment RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)July 1, 2016 to July 31, 2016—Resolved
Surface Water Treatment RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)June 1, 2016 to June 30, 2016—Resolved
Surface Water Treatment RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)May 1, 2016 to May 31, 2016—Resolved
Surface Water Treatment RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)April 1, 2016 to April 30, 2016—Resolved
Surface Water Treatment RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)March 1, 2016 to March 31, 2016—Resolved
Surface Water Treatment RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Feb. 1, 2016 to Feb. 29, 2016—Resolved
Surface Water Treatment RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Jan. 1, 2016 to Jan. 31, 2016—Resolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 9 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Uranium, haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, arsenic, chromium (total) and fluoride results here are Colorado’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Little Elk Creek’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. 21, 2020 to Aug. 11, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Little Elk Creek’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 lab Colorado certifies closest to the area Little Elk Creek serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Eagle River W / S District

    Avon, CO · about 39 miles

    Certified for bacteria, lead and copper, metals, radioactivity

All 54 certified labs for Colorado

Sources

PWSID CO0149476. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Pitkin County

All Colorado utilities

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