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Town of Vilas

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
137 people
Connections
76
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Vilas, CO
County
Baca
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

81087

The short answer

2 results are above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic, above the health goal. 5 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Arsenic, uranium, fluoride, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), nitrate and chromium (total): Colorado’s own results, samples taken from Sept. 29, 2020 to Sept. 28, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the health goal2

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

2.0ppb

Highest yearly average, 2022

Averaged by year, the highest was 2.0 ppb, in 2022: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 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 2.0 ppb, in 2019.

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

1.5ppb

Highest yearly average, 2025

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.5 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 3.0 ppb, in 2016.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits5

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

1.4ppm

Highest yearly average, 2022

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.4 ppm, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. That is the only year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 1.5 ppm, in 2019.

What handles it

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

8.2ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026, one sample: 5.4 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 8.2 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 5.4 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 6.2 ppb, in 2017.

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

1.3ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.3 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. 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 yearly average of 2.0 ppb, in 2017.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.2ppm

Highest sample; found in 2 of 7

2026: not found

The highest sample, in 2020, was 0.2 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 0.4 ppm, in 2013.

What handles it

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

Chromium (total)

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

2.0ppb

Highest yearly average, 2022

Averaged by year, the highest was 2.0 ppb, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. That is the only year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 2.0 ppb, in 2019.

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

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
Combined Radium (-226 and -228)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2018 to June 30, 20188.3 PCI/LResolved
Combined Radium (-226 and -228)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2018 to March 31, 20188.3 PCI/LResolved
Combined Radium (-226 and -228)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2017 to Dec. 31, 201710.9 PCI/LResolved
Combined Radium (-226 and -228)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2017 to Sept. 30, 201732 PCI/LResolved
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. 15 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Arsenic, uranium, fluoride, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), nitrate and chromium (total) results here are Colorado’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Town of Vilas’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 Sept. 29, 2020 to Sept. 28, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Town of Vilas’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 Vilas 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 CO0105800. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Baca County

All Colorado utilities

What to do next