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River Meadows the

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
490 people
Connections
196
Water source
Surface water bought from another system
Based in
Montrose, CO
County
Montrose
Owner
Private
Hardness
Moderately hard
The ZIP code it serves

81401

The short answer

2 results are above the health goal. The worst: Lead, above the health goal. No health-based violations on file since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2019 to 2026.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride, nitrate, arsenic and chromium (total): Colorado’s own results, samples taken from Feb. 2, 2020 to Aug. 3, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Uranium: EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from Feb. 5, 2018 to Feb. 5, 2018. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.

Above the health goal2

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

3.7ppb

90th percentile, 2026

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 3.7 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

3.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2018

Averaged by year, the highest was 3.8 ppb, in 2018: below EPA’s legal limit of 30 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. That is the only year on file.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits4

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

56.9ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026, one sample: 36.5 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 56.9 ppb, in 2024, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 36.5 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 14.1 ppb, in 2014.

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

29.5ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026, one sample: 16.3 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 29.5 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 16.3 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 15.7 ppb, in 2014.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.28ppm

Highest yearly average, 2022 to 2024

2024, one sample: 0.15 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.28 ppm, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2024, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.15 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.49 ppm, in 2013.

What handles it

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.32ppm

Highest sample; found in 4 of 4

2023, one sample: 0.17 ppm

The highest sample, in 2021, was 0.32 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2023, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.17 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 0.33 ppm, in 2019.

What handles it

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

Hardness

Moderately hard, typically 90 mg/L (5.3 grains per gallon), across 2 sampling points, in 2024.

Hardness is calcium and magnesium. EPA sets no limit for it: it shows up as scale on fixtures and in water heaters, and as soap that won’t lather. USGS calls water above 60 mg/L moderately hard, above 120 hard and above 180 very hard.

Softeners compared at 5.3 grains per gallon, salt includedSoftener or salt-free conditioner?Colorado water hardness, utility by utility

Violations since 2016

No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride, nitrate, arsenic and chromium (total) results here are Colorado’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Uranium comes from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. River Meadows the’s own annual report, which it must send you every year, has newer results for those and 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 Feb. 2, 2020 to Aug. 3, 2026; EPA’s compliance samples are from Feb. 5, 2018 to Feb. 5, 2018.

Testing your own tap

River Meadows the’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 River Meadows the serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Mesa County Public Health Regional Laboratory

    Grand Junction, CO · about 56 miles

    Certified for bacteria

All 54 certified labs for Colorado

Sources

PWSID CO0143505. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Montrose County

All Colorado utilities

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