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Town of Hotchkiss

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
2,050 people
Connections
798
Water source
Surface water
Based in
Hotchkiss, CO
County
Delta
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

81419

The short answer

2 results are above the health goal. The worst: Uranium, above the health goal. 3 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2018 to 2025.

Uranium, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), nitrate, fluoride, arsenic and chromium (total): Colorado’s own results, samples taken from Jan. 28, 2020 to July 6, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the health goal2

Uranium

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

18ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2024

2024: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 18 ppb, in 2022: below EPA’s legal limit of 30 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. In 2024, 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 0.06 ppb, in 2014.

What handles it

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

0.8ppb

90th percentile, 2025

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 0.8 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 limits4

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

68.2ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 45.4 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 68.2 ppb, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 86.8 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 45.4 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 65.4 ppb, in 2015.

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

45.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 39.6 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 45.8 ppb, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 83 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 39.6 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 46.8 ppb, in 2012.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

1.8ppm

Highest sample; found in 2 of 7

2026: not found

The highest sample, in 2022, was 1.8 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 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 sample of 0.1 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

0.62ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023

2023, one sample: 0.58 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.62 ppm, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2023, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.58 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 1.1 ppm, in 2012.

What handles it

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

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalateThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2021 to June 30, 20210.011 MG/LResolved
Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalateThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2021 to March 31, 20210.023 MG/LResolved
Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalateThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2020 to Dec. 31, 20200.023 MG/LResolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 115 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Uranium, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), nitrate, fluoride, arsenic and chromium (total) results here are Colorado’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Town of Hotchkiss’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. 28, 2020 to July 6, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Town of Hotchkiss’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 Hotchkiss 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 42 miles

    Certified for bacteria

All 54 certified labs for Colorado

Sources

PWSID CO0115352. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Delta County

All Colorado utilities

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