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Town of Ordway

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
1,300 people
Connections
491
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Ordway, CO
County
Crowley
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

81063

The short answer

2 results are above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic, above the health goal. No health-based violations on file since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Arsenic, uranium, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, fluoride, haloacetic acids (HAA5) and chromium (total): Colorado’s own results, samples taken from Aug. 10, 2020 to Sept. 8, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the health goal2

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

6.0ppb

Highest yearly average, 2022 to 2023

Averaged by year, the highest was 6.0 ppb, in 2023: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. That was also the latest year on file.

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

11ppb

Highest yearly average, 2022 to 2023

Averaged by year, the highest was 11 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. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 10 ppb, in 2019.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits5

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

48.1ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 18.2 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 48.1 ppb, in 2024, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 85.4 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 18.2 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 79.3 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

2.5ppm

Highest sample; found in 9 of 9

2026, one sample: 2.5 ppm

The highest sample, in 2024, was 2.5 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 2.5 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 2.5 ppm, in 2013.

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

0.87ppm

Highest yearly average, 2022 to 2023

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.87 ppm, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.98 ppm, in 2013.

What handles it

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

9.3ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 5.7 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 9.3 ppb, in 2024, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 15.7 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 5.7 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 28.5 ppb, in 2017.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Chromium (total)

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

4.0ppb

Highest yearly average, 2022 to 2023

Averaged by year, the highest was 4.0 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. That was also the latest year on file.

What handles it

One compound tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Lead

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

    Claim: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction

    For: Arsenic

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

  • NSF/ANSI 58

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

    For: Arsenic, Uranium

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

At the tap, or for the whole house?

These come with the water itself, so a whole-house system certified for the same claims treats every tap and shower. A filter at the tap treats drinking water for much less. 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

Violations since 2016

No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016. There are 8 monitoring or reporting violations: a sample missed, late or not reported.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Arsenic, uranium, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, fluoride, haloacetic acids (HAA5) and chromium (total) results here are Colorado’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Town of Ordway’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. 10, 2020 to Sept. 8, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Town of Ordway’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 2 labs Colorado certifies closest to the area Town of Ordway serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment

    Pueblo, CO · about 48 miles

    Certified for bacteria

  • El Paso County Health Department

    Colorado Springs, CO · about 65 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, minerals and other inorganics

All 54 certified labs for Colorado

Sources

PWSID CO0113700. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Crowley County

All Colorado utilities

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