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Town of Dove 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
850 people
Connections
530
Water source
Surface water
Based in
Dove Creek, CO
County
Dolores
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

81324

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit, and 1 more is above the health goal. The worst: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), above the legal limit. 7 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2004 to 2025.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride, chromium (total), arsenic and nitrate: Colorado’s own results, samples taken from Feb. 24, 2020 to Aug. 4, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the legal limit1

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Above the legal limit

86.2ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 56.6 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 86.2 ppb, in 2024, above EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 103 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 56.6 ppb. EPA recorded violations for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at this utility in 2024 and 2025. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 77 ppb, in 2018, and EPA recorded a violation in 2019.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”

Above the health goal1

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

0.6ppb

90th percentile, 2023 to 2025

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 0.6 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

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

40.6ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 38 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 40.6 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 61.6 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 38 ppb. EPA recorded no violation for haloacetic acids (HAA5) at this utility since 2020. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 47.9 ppb, in 2018.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.13ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023

2023: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.13 ppm, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2023, 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 0.12 ppm, in 2018.

What handles it

Chromium (total)

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

3.0ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023

2023, one sample: 2.0 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 3.0 ppb, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. In 2023, the latest year on file, its one sample was 2.0 ppb.

What handles it

2 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Arsenic
  • Nitrate

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: Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), Lead

    Other certifiers’ wording: VOC Reduction

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), 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
Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment RuleToo many readings in a month showed cloudiness above the filtration standard.EPA: Monthly Turbidity Exceed (Enhanced SWTR)Sept. 1, 2025 to Sept. 30, 2025—Resolved
Surface Water Treatment RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Sept. 1, 2025 to Sept. 30, 2025—Resolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2025 to March 31, 20250.081 MG/LArchived
Lead and Copper Rule RevisionsThe required inventory of lead service lines was not completed or submitted on time.EPA: LSL InventoryOct. 17, 2024—Resolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2024 to Dec. 31, 20240.086 MG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2024 to Sept. 30, 20240.083 MG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2019 to Sept. 30, 201983.3 UG/LResolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 13 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride, chromium (total), arsenic and nitrate results here are Colorado’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Town of Dove 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 Feb. 24, 2020 to Aug. 4, 2026.

Testing your own tap

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

  • La Plata County Water Quality Laboratory

    Durango, CO · about 73 miles

    Certified for bacteria

All 54 certified labs for Colorado

Sources

PWSID CO0117300. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Nearby

All Colorado utilities

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