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Town of Oak 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
950 people
Connections
550
Water source
Surface water
Based in
Oak Creek, CO
County
Routt
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

80467

The short answer

2 results are above the health goal. The worst: Lead, above the health goal. 12 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

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

Uranium, haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, arsenic, chromium (total) and fluoride: Colorado’s own results, samples taken from March 10, 2020 to Sept. 29, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the health goal2

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

Uranium

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

0.32ppb

Highest yearly average, 2022 to 2023

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.32 ppb, in 2023: below EPA’s legal limit of 30 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. That was also the latest year on file.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits3

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

51.4ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 18.7 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 51.4 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 110 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 18.7 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 70.2 ppb, in 2012, and EPA recorded violations in 2012 and 2013.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

49.1ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 13 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 49.1 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 132 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its four samples averaged 13 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 68.1 ppb, in 2012.

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

0.087ppm

Highest sample; found in 4 of 8

2026: not found

The highest sample, in 2020, was 0.087 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 0.08 ppm, in 2012.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”
3 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Arsenic
  • 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.”

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
Surface Water Treatment RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)March 1, 2025 to March 31, 2025—Resolved
Surface Water Treatment RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Feb. 1, 2025 to Feb. 28, 2025—Resolved
Surface Water Treatment RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Jan. 1, 2025 to Jan. 31, 2025—Resolved
Surface Water Treatment RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Dec. 1, 2024 to Dec. 31, 2024—Resolved
Surface Water Treatment RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Nov. 1, 2024 to Nov. 30, 2024—Resolved
Lead and Copper Rule RevisionsThe required inventory of lead service lines was not completed or submitted on time.EPA: LSL InventoryOct. 17, 2024—Resolved
Surface Water Treatment RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Oct. 1, 2024 to Oct. 31, 2024—Resolved
Surface Water Treatment RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Sept. 1, 2024 to Sept. 30, 2024—Resolved
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, 2024 to Sept. 30, 2024—Resolved
Surface Water Treatment RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Aug. 1, 2024 to Aug. 31, 2024—Resolved
Surface Water Treatment RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)July 1, 2024 to July 31, 2024—Resolved
Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment RuleToo many readings in a month showed cloudiness above the filtration standard.EPA: Monthly Turbidity Exceed (Enhanced SWTR)April 1, 2023 to April 30, 2023—Resolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 54 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Uranium, haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, arsenic, chromium (total) and fluoride results here are Colorado’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Town of Oak 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 March 10, 2020 to Sept. 29, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Town of Oak 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 3 labs Colorado certifies closest to the area Town of Oak Creek 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 · about 23 miles

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

  • Routt County Env. Health Dept.

    Steamboat Springs, CO · about 23 miles

    Certified for bacteria

  • Eagle River W / S District

    Avon, CO · about 45 miles

    Certified for bacteria, lead and copper, metals, radioactivity

All 54 certified labs for Colorado

Sources

PWSID CO0154566. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Routt County

All Colorado utilities

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