Is Alturas, FL tap water safe?
The short answer
1 of the 11 utilities serving Alturas has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and Florida’s records: Orange Acres Ranch.
City of Bartow, which serves the most people here, has 1 result above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 1.0 ppb, above the health goal. 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 Alturas’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
City of Bartow
Florida · serves 21,501 people · about 6,200 in Alturas
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 1.0 ppb, above the health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
City of Lake Wales
Florida · serves 18,722 people · about 1,400 in Alturas
2 results above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029 and 2 results above the health goal. The worst: PFOA at 8.0 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
City of Fort Meade
Florida · serves 5,455 people · about 540 in Alturas
2 results above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 1.6 ppb, above the health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
City of Lake Wales/Park Water Company
Florida · serves 1,948 people · about 480 in Alturas
2 results above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 2.3 ppb, above the health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Bedrock Towerwood Mobile Home Community
Florida · serves 300 people · about 110 in Alturas
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 3.9 ppb, above the health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Good Life Rv Resort
Florida · serves 106 people · under 100 in Alturas
2 results above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 6.7 ppb, above the health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Pinecrest Utilitie, LLC
Florida · serves 405 people · under 100 in Alturas
2 results above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 4.6 ppb, above the health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Southwest/Polk County Utility
Florida · serves 39,209 people · under 100 in Alturas
3 results above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic at 1.5 ppb, above the health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Alturas Water, LLC
Florida · serves 300 people · under 100 in Alturas
2 results above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic at 7.6 ppb, above the health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Orange Acres Ranch
Florida · serves 200 people · under 100 in Alturas
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 5.9 ppb, above the health goal.
5 health-based violations since 2016
1 more utility in Alturas
By EPA’s estimate, each serves fewer people in Alturas than those above.
- Green Acres Mobile Home Parkserves 62 people · under 100 in Alturas · no health-based violations since 2016
What handles it
Each of these is certified, on a certifier’s listing, for a result above a line in City of Bartow’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.
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Brita Tahoe Pitcher with Elite Filter (OB60, OB06)
Pitcher
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 13, 2026
- IAPMO listing:NSF/ANSI 53checked Oct. 13, 2026
Certified for: Lead
Brita Everyday Pitcher with Elite Filter (OB46, OB06)
Pitcher
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 13, 2026
Certified for: Lead
PUR PLUS 11-Cup Pitcher (PPT111W)
Pitcher
- NSF listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 4, 2026
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 4, 2026
- IAPMO listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 4, 2026
Certified for: Lead
Water testing near Alturas
The 3 labs Florida certifies closest to Alturas, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Benchmark Mid Florida Laboratory
Winter Haven, FL · about 11 miles
Certified for bacteria
Central Florida Tourism Oversight District Environmental Sciences
Lake Buena Vista, FL · about 39 miles
Certified for bacteria
Advanced Environmental Laboratories, Inc. - Tampa
Tampa, FL · about 40 miles
Certified for bacteria, lead and copper, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts
Florida Department of Health Bureau of Public Health Laboratories: Coliform and E. coli testing for private wells at the Jacksonville and Miami labs. Collection kits come from your county health department, and the sample has to reach the lab on ice the same day it is collected. $40 for private testing through the state lab. Well Water Testing, Florida Department of Health.
All 212 certified labs for FloridaWhich ZIP codes are in Alturas: 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: Florida Department of Health Environmental Laboratory Certification Program, drinking water labs, as listed in TNI LAMS; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer.
Near Alturas
Other towns in Polk County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read City of Bartow’s full reportEvery result with its dates, the violations, and the certification claim that handles each finding.Open the report
- Filters for LeadRanked by certification and what they cost over five years.The best water filters for lead, ranked
- On a private well?No utility tests a well. A certified lab test is the first step.How to test well water