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Town of South Fork West Municipal

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
566 people
Connections
181
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
South Fork, CO
County
Rio Grande
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

81154

The short answer

1 result is 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, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, haloacetic acids (HAA5), chromium (total), fluoride and uranium: Colorado’s own results, samples taken from May 18, 2020 to Aug. 4, 2026.

Above the health goal1

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

2.0ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023

2023, one sample: 2.0 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 2.0 ppb, in 2020: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. In 2023, the latest year on file, its one sample was 2.0 ppb.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”

Below EPA’s limits5

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

9.2ppb

Highest yearly average, 2022 to 2026

2026 average: 4.2 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 9.2 ppb, in 2024, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 4.2 ppb.

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

0.68ppm

Highest sample; found in 9 of 10

2026, one sample: 0.5 ppm

The highest sample, in 2024, was 0.68 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.5 ppm.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

1.3ppb

Highest yearly average, 2022 to 2026

2026: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.3 ppb, in 2024, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in any of its two samples.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Chromium (total)

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

2.0ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023

2023: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 2.0 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. In 2023, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample.

What handles it

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.028ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023

2023: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.028 ppm, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. Its highest single sample was 0.11 ppm. In 2023, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample.

What handles it

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

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

    Claim: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction

    For: Arsenic

    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 98 monitoring or reporting violations: a sample missed, late or not reported.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Arsenic, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, haloacetic acids (HAA5), chromium (total), fluoride and uranium results here are Colorado’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Town of South Fork West Municipal’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 May 18, 2020 to Aug. 4, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Town of South Fork West Municipal’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 South Fork West Municipal serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Sangre De Cristo Laboratory

    Alamosa, CO · about 43 miles

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

All 54 certified labs for Colorado

Sources

PWSID CO0253718. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Rio Grande County

All Colorado utilities

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