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Shawnee Wca

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
50 people
Connections
29
Water source
Groundwater influenced by surface water
Based in
Buffalo Creek, CO
County
Park
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

80456

The short answer

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

What handles it

What was found

Copper: EPA’s file records a utility’s copper only when it exceeds the action level. The last here was 4.5 ppm, for the period ending Dec. 31, 2013. None since is on file, so it is not counted as a current finding.

Arsenic, uranium, nitrate, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride and chromium (total): Colorado’s own results, samples taken from Jan. 8, 2020 to Aug. 10, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the health goal2

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

3.0ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2025

2025, one sample: 3.0 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 3.0 ppb, in 2022: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. In 2025, the latest year on file, its one sample was 3.0 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 2.0 ppb, in 2012.

What handles it

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

Uranium

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

2.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2025

Averaged by year, the highest was 2.8 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 2.2 ppb, in 2013.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits5

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

9.4ppm

Highest sample; found in 26 of 26

2026 average: 3.3 ppm

The highest sample, in 2022, was 9.4 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 3.3 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 18.3 ppm, in 2015, and EPA recorded a violation in 2015.

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

Below EPA’s limits

70.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 56 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 70.8 ppb, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 95.2 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 56 ppb. EPA recorded no violation for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at this utility since 2020. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 75.2 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

24.3ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 13.4 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 24.3 ppb, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 13.4 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 22.7 ppb, in 2013.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.38ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2025

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.38 ppm, in 2025, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.55 ppm, in 2013.

What handles it

Chromium (total)

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

4.0ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2025

Averaged by year, the highest was 4.0 ppb, in 2025, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 3.0 ppb, in 2012.

What handles it

One compound tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • 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.”

  • 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 3 monitoring or reporting violations: a sample missed, late or not reported.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Arsenic, uranium, nitrate, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride and chromium (total) results here are Colorado’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Shawnee Wca’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. 8, 2020 to Aug. 10, 2026.

Testing your own tap

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

  • GeoWater Services

    Evergreen, CO · about 27 miles

    Certified for bacteria

  • Gilpin County Public Health Agency

    Black Hawk, CO · about 42 miles

    Certified for bacteria

  • Hazen Research

    Golden, CO · about 43 miles

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

All 54 certified labs for Colorado

Sources

PWSID CO0147090. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Park County

All Colorado utilities

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