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Steamboat II MD

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
1,450 people
Connections
410
Water source
Surface water bought from another system
Based in
Steamboat Springs, CO
County
Routt
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

80487

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit, and 1 more is above the health goal. The worst: Haloacetic acids (HAA5), above the legal limit. 4 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2002 to 2025.

Copper: EPA’s file records a utility’s copper only when it exceeds the action level. The last here was 2.0 ppm, for the period ending June 30, 2002. None since is on file, so it is not counted as a current finding.

Haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, fluoride, arsenic, chromium (total) and uranium: Colorado’s own results, samples taken from Feb. 20, 2020 to Aug. 10, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the legal limit1

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Above the legal limit

52.9ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 37.8 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 52.9 ppb, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 77.5 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 37.8 ppb. EPA judges this limit at each sampling point, and recorded a violation for haloacetic acids (HAA5) at this utility in 2021. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 49.9 ppb, in 2019.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Above the health goal1

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

8.2ppb

90th percentile, 2023 to 2025

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 8.2 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

Below EPA’s limits3

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

56.9ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 39.9 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 56.9 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 80.8 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its four samples averaged 39.9 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 44.3 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

2.1ppm

Highest sample; found in 5 of 6

2026, one sample: 1.1 ppm

The highest sample, in 2024, was 2.1 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 1.1 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 1.3 ppm, in 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

0.34ppm

Highest yearly average, 2022 to 2026

2026: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.34 ppm, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.18 ppm, in 2016.

What handles it

3 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Arsenic
  • Chromium (total)
  • Uranium

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
Revised Total Coliform RuleColiform results required a check of the system, and the check or its fixes were not done on time.EPA: Treatment Technique, Level 1 Assessment (RTCR)Dec. 21, 2023—Resolved
Groundwater RuleA significant problem found in a state inspection was not fixed on time.EPA: Failure To Address DeficiencyFeb. 17, 2023—Resolved
Groundwater RuleA significant problem found in a state inspection was not fixed on time.EPA: Failure To Address DeficiencyFeb. 17, 2023—Resolved
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2021 to June 30, 20210.062 MG/LResolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 113 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, fluoride, arsenic, chromium (total) and uranium results here are Colorado’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Steamboat II MD’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 Feb. 20, 2020 to Aug. 10, 2026.

Testing your own tap

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

  • ACZ Laboratories, Inc.

    Steamboat Springs, CO · under a mile

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

  • Routt County Env. Health Dept.

    Steamboat Springs, CO · under a mile

    Certified for bacteria

  • Eagle River W / S District

    Avon, CO · about 68 miles

    Certified for bacteria, lead and copper, metals, radioactivity

All 54 certified labs for Colorado

Sources

PWSID CO0154724. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Routt County

All Colorado utilities

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