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Town of del Norte

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
1,429 people
Connections
800
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Del Norte, CO
County
Rio Grande
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

81132

The short answer

3 results are above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic, above the health goal. 1 health-based violation since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2007 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 Dec. 31, 2010. None since is on file, so it is not counted as a current finding.

Arsenic, uranium, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, haloacetic acids (HAA5), chromium (total) and fluoride: Colorado’s own results, samples taken from Aug. 19, 2020 to Sept. 16, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the health goal3

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

1.0ppb

Highest yearly average, 2022 to 2024

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.0 ppb, in 2024: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. Its highest single sample was 2.0 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 2.0 ppb, in 2013.

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

2.6ppb

Highest yearly average, 2025

Averaged by year, the highest was 2.6 ppb, in 2025: below EPA’s legal limit of 30 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. Its highest single sample was 2.6 ppb. That is the only year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 3.0 ppb, in 2019.

What handles it

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

1.0ppb

90th percentile, 2023 to 2025

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 1.0 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

Below EPA’s limits3

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

7.9ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026, one sample: 6.0 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 7.9 ppb, in 2025, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 6.0 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 9.1 ppb, in 2018.

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

0.46ppm

Highest sample; found in 8 of 8

2025 average: 0.44 ppm

The highest sample, in 2025, was 0.46 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. That was also the latest year on file, and its two samples averaged 0.44 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 1.2 ppm, in 2014.

What handles it

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

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

1.9ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.9 ppb, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. 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 2.5 ppb, in 2018.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

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

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

    Claims: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: Arsenic, Lead

    Other certifiers’ wording: Arsenic (III) (50 ppb influent level)

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction, Uranium, Lead Reduction

    For: Arsenic, Uranium, Lead

    Other certifiers’ wording: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=300 ppb Reduction; Arsenic (V) (300 ppb influent level)

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 reverse osmosis systems, ranked

The best water filters for lead, ranked

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
Stage 1 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts RuleTreatment was not run by a certified operator as required.EPA: Treatment Technique No Certif. OperatorApril 1, 2016—Resolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 16 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Arsenic, uranium, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, haloacetic acids (HAA5), chromium (total) and fluoride results here are Colorado’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Town of del Norte’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 Aug. 19, 2020 to Sept. 16, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Town of del Norte’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 Town of del Norte serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Sangre De Cristo Laboratory

    Alamosa, CO · about 36 miles

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

All 54 certified labs for Colorado

Sources

PWSID CO0153200. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Rio Grande County

All Colorado utilities

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