Skip to content
TapBuff
ZIP

Upper Surface Creek Domestic WUA

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
2,800 people
Connections
971
Water source
Surface water
Based in
Cedaredge, CO
County
Delta
Owner
Private
The 2 ZIP codes it serves

81413, 81419

The short answer

2 results are above EPA’s legal limit, and 1 more is above the health goal. The worst: Haloacetic acids (HAA5), above the legal limit. 11 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2023.

Haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, chromium (total), arsenic and fluoride: Colorado’s own results, samples taken from March 4, 2020 to Sept. 8, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Uranium: EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from July 30, 2019 to July 30, 2019. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.

Above the legal limit2

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Above the legal limit

67ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 56.6 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 67 ppb, in 2022, above EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 117 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 56.6 ppb. EPA recorded violations for haloacetic acids (HAA5) at this utility in 2022 and 2023. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 63.7 ppb, in 2017, and EPA recorded violations in 2017 and 2019.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Copper

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the action level

1.4ppm

90th percentile, 2023

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 1.4 ppm, above EPA’s action level of 1.3 ppm.

What handles it

Above the health goal1

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

3.0ppb

90th percentile, 2026

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 3.0 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 limits3

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

59.2ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 55.6 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 59.2 ppb, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 92.8 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 55.6 ppb. EPA recorded no violation for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at this utility since 2020. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 53.8 ppb, in 2019.

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

0.2ppm

Highest sample; found in 4 of 7

2026: not found

The highest sample, in 2025, 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 0.3 ppm, in 2018.

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, 2020 to 2023

2023: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 2.0 ppb, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. In 2023, 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

3 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Arsenic
  • Fluoride
  • 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

    Claims: Copper Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: Copper, Lead

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Copper Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: Copper, 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
Lead and Copper RuleOCCT/SOWT Treatment Installation/DemonstrationMay 5, 2024—Resolved
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2023 to Sept. 30, 20230.062 MG/LResolved
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2023 to June 30, 20230.069 MG/LResolved
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2023 to March 31, 20230.064 MG/LResolved
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2022 to Dec. 31, 20220.067 MG/LResolved
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2022 to Sept. 30, 20220.064 MG/LResolved
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2019 to June 30, 20190.066 MG/LResolved
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2017 to Dec. 31, 20170.063 MG/LResolved
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2017 to Sept. 30, 20170.064 MG/LResolved
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2017 to June 30, 20170.062 MG/LResolved
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2017 to March 31, 20170.061 MG/LResolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 29 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, chromium (total), arsenic and fluoride 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. Upper Surface Creek Domestic WUA’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 4, 2020 to Sept. 8, 2026; EPA’s compliance samples are from July 30, 2019 to July 30, 2019.

Testing your own tap

Upper Surface Creek Domestic WUA’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 Upper Surface Creek Domestic WUA 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 36 miles

    Certified for bacteria

All 54 certified labs for Colorado

Sources

PWSID CO0115784. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Delta County

All Colorado utilities

What to do next