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Town of Paonia

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
2,499 people
Connections
1,113
Water source
Groundwater influenced by surface water
Based in
Paonia, CO
County
Delta
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

81428

The short answer

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

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2022 to 2026.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), nitrate, fluoride, arsenic and chromium (total): Colorado’s own results, samples taken from March 30, 2020 to Sept. 2, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Uranium: EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from Dec. 17, 2019 to Dec. 17, 2019. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.

Above the health goal2

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

1.2ppb

90th percentile, 2026

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 1.2 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

0.12ppb

Highest yearly average, 2019

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.12 ppb, in 2019: below EPA’s legal limit of 30 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. Its highest single sample was 0.23 ppb. That is the only year on file.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits4

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

12.3ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 8.1 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 12.3 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 29.4 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 8.1 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 16.2 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

7.6ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 3.9 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 7.6 ppb, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 19.4 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 3.9 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 13.2 ppb, in 2015.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.63ppm

Highest sample; found in 8 of 8

2026, one sample: 0.38 ppm

The highest sample, in 2022, was 0.63 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.38 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 0.51 ppm, in 2012.

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

0.1ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.1 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 0.05 ppm, in 2019.

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
Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment RuleOne cloudiness reading was above the maximum allowed.EPA: Single Turbidity Exceed (Enhanced SWTR)May 1, 2023 to May 31, 2023—Resolved
Surface Water Treatment RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Jan. 1, 2022 to Jan. 31, 2022—Resolved
Surface Water Treatment RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Dec. 1, 2021 to Dec. 31, 2021—Resolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 62 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. 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. Uranium comes from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Town of Paonia’s own annual report, which it must send you every year, has newer results for those and 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 30, 2020 to Sept. 2, 2026; EPA’s compliance samples are from Dec. 17, 2019 to Dec. 17, 2019.

Testing your own tap

Town of Paonia’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 Paonia 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 48 miles

    Certified for bacteria

  • Eagle River W / S District

    Avon, CO · about 73 miles

    Certified for bacteria, lead and copper, metals, radioactivity

All 54 certified labs for Colorado

Sources

PWSID CO0115601. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Delta County

All Colorado utilities

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