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Town of Two Buttes

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
64 people
Connections
42
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Two Buttes, CO
County
Baca
Owner
Local government
Hardness
Very hard
The ZIP code it serves

81084

The short answer

3 results are above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic, above the health goal. 10 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2007 to 2025.

Arsenic, uranium, nitrate, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), fluoride, haloacetic acids (HAA5) and chromium (total): Colorado’s own results, samples taken from March 16, 2020 to Aug. 27, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the health goal3

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

7.0ppb

Highest yearly average, 2022 to 2025

Averaged by year, the highest was 7.0 ppb, in 2025: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 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 2.0 ppb, in 2016.

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

11.9ppb

Highest yearly average, 2025

Averaged by year, the highest was 11.9 ppb, in 2025: below EPA’s legal limit of 30 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. That is the only year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 15.2 ppb, in 2016.

What handles it

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

2.5ppb

90th percentile, 2023 to 2025

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 2.5 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 limits5

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

7.9ppm

Highest sample; found in 26 of 27

2026 average: 6.8 ppm

The highest sample, in 2024, was 7.9 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 6.8 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 8.2 ppm, in 2017.

What handles it

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

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

41ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026, one sample: 7.6 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 41 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 7.6 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 34.7 ppb, in 2013.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.81ppm

Highest yearly average, 2022 to 2023

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.81 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 1.0 ppm, in 2013.

What handles it

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

7.2ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026, one sample: 1.4 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 7.2 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 1.4 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 6.8 ppb, in 2013.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Chromium (total)

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

3.0ppb

Highest yearly average, 2022 to 2025

2025, one sample: 3.0 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 3.0 ppb, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. In 2025, the latest year on file, its one sample was 3.0 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 3.0 ppb, in 2016.

What handles it

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

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

    For: Arsenic, Lead

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

  • NSF/ANSI 58

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

    For: Arsenic, Uranium, Lead

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

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 reverse osmosis systems, ranked

The best water filters for lead, ranked

Hardness

Very hard, 414 mg/L (24.2 grains per gallon), at its one sampling point, in 2023.

Hardness is calcium and magnesium. EPA sets no limit for it: it shows up as scale on fixtures and in water heaters, and as soap that won’t lather. USGS calls water above 60 mg/L moderately hard, above 120 hard and above 180 very hard.

Softeners compared at 24.2 grains per gallon, salt includedSoftener or salt-free conditioner?Colorado water hardness, utility by utility

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
Groundwater RuleA significant problem found in a state inspection was not fixed on time.EPA: Failure To Address DeficiencyFeb. 21, 2026—Addressed
Combined Radium (-226 and -228)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2026 to March 31, 20266.0 PCI/LArchived
Combined Radium (-226 and -228)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2025 to Dec. 31, 20256.0 PCI/LArchived
Combined Radium (-226 and -228)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2025 to Sept. 30, 20256.0 PCI/LArchived
Combined Radium (-226 and -228)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2025 to June 30, 20257.0 PCI/LArchived
Combined Radium (-226 and -228)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2025 to March 31, 20256.0 PCI/LArchived
Stage 1 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts RuleTreatment was not run by a certified operator as required.EPA: Treatment Technique No Certif. OperatorAug. 1, 2024—Resolved
Combined Radium (-226 and -228)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2023 to Dec. 31, 20236.3 PCI/LResolved
Stage 1 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts RuleTreatment was not run by a certified operator as required.EPA: Treatment Technique No Certif. OperatorMarch 1, 2023—Resolved
Stage 1 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts RuleTreatment was not run by a certified operator as required.EPA: Treatment Technique No Certif. OperatorMay 1, 2016—Resolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 32 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Arsenic, uranium, nitrate, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), 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 Two Buttes’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 16, 2020 to Aug. 27, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Town of Two Buttes’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.

No lab Colorado certifies is within 75 miles of the area Town of Two Buttes serves on the state’s list. Some take samples by mail; the state’s page lists them all.

All 54 certified labs for Colorado

Sources

PWSID CO0105700. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Baca County

All Colorado utilities

What to do next