Skip to content
TapBuff
ZIP

Is Cortez, CO tap water safe?

5 utilities serve Cortez, by EPA’s records. Here is what EPA’s and Colorado’s records show for each, against the legal limits and the stricter health goals.

Matched to your utility using EPA records.

The short answer

5 of the 5 utilities serving Cortez have a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and Colorado’s records: City of Cortez, Vista Verde Village, Montezuma Cnty WD No 1 and 2 more.

City of Cortez, which serves the most people here, has 1 result above the health goal and 1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: Lithium at 25 ppb, above EPA’s health benchmark. Health goals are stricter than legal limits and are not enforced.

A town can be served by more than one utility, and some homes are on private wells. The name on your water bill tells you which is yours, and your ZIP code narrows it down. They are listed by how many people each serves in Cortez’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.

What handles it

Each of these is certified, on a certifier’s listing, for a result above a line in City of Cortez’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.

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

Every claim, and more filters, in the full report

Water testing near Cortez

A utility tests the water it sends out. A test of your own tap shows what your pipes add, and on a private well it is the only test there is. It takes a lab Colorado certifies.

The lab Colorado certifies closest to Cortez, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • La Plata County Water Quality Laboratory

    Durango, CO · about 49 miles

    Certified for bacteria

All 54 certified labs for Colorado

ZIP codes in Cortez

Which ZIP codes are in Cortez: Census 2020 relationship files. Which utilities serve them, and how many people: EPA SDWIS and EPA’s service area map. Each utility’s results: EPA UCMR 5, EPA SDWIS, and EPA’s and the state’s compliance monitoring, as its report lists them. How they are measured: methodology. Certified labs: CDPHE certified drinking water laboratories; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer.

Near Cortez

Towns nearby with a page of their own.

What to do next