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IL American - Whispering Hills

What EPA’s and Illinois’s records show in this utility’s water: PFAS and lithium; nitrate, arsenic and other regulated chemicals; lead and copper; and violations since 2016, with the certification that handles each result.

Serves
8,300 people
Connections
2,371
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Godfrey, IL
County
McHenry
Owner
Private
Hardness
Very hard
The 3 ZIP codes it serves

60050, 60051, 60081

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029. The worst: PFOA, above EPA’s new limit (2029). 1 health-based violation since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

PFAS and lithium: EPA UCMR 5, samples taken from May 13, 2024 to Nov. 6, 2024.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride, arsenic, chromium (total) and nitrate: Illinois’s own results, samples taken from Feb. 5, 2020 to Sept. 2, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

PFAS: PFOA, PFHxS and PFBS were found, of the six PFAS in EPA’s 2024 drinking water rule; their results are below. Four other PFAS with no federal limit were found, the highest PFPeA at 14 ppt: see them below.

EPA’s 2024 PFAS rule, compound by compound

PFASEPA’s limitResult
PFOA4.0 pptAbove EPA’s new limit (2029)8.3 ppt highest, found in 1 of 10 samples. Details
PFOS4.0 pptNot foundNot found in any of 10 samples, below 4 ppt
PFHxS10 pptBelow EPA’s limits5.7 ppt highest, found in 1 of 10 samples. Details
PFNA10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 10 samples, below 4 ppt
HFPO-DA (GenX)10 pptNot foundNot found in any of 10 samples, below 5 ppt
PFBSIndex onlyBelow EPA’s limits8.6 ppt highest, found in 2 of 10 samples. Details
Hazard IndexPFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA and PFBS together1Below EPA’s limits0.29 at its highest sampling location, Treatment Plant 4 (Wells 4 & 5)
Results from EPA’s UCMR 5 sampling. “Below” is the lab’s reporting level: a result under it reads as not found, which is not the same as zero. The limits are EPA’s 2024 rule, with compliance due from 2029; EPA has since proposed changes to some of them, explained on each compound’s page. PFBS has no limit of its own and counts only toward the Hazard Index, which adds up the four, each against EPA’s health-based level, from each sampling location’s average, as EPA’s UCMR 5 summary does. It counts only where two or more of the four were found, and is above the limit from 1.5.

About PFAS certifications

NSF’s PFAS claims are tested to below 20 ppt. EPA’s limit is 4.0 ppt, and EPA says no certification yet shows a filter reaching its levels.

Above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 20291

PFOA

Comes from the source

Above EPA’s new limit (2029)

8.3ppt

Highest sample, Nov. 6, 2024; found in 1 of 10

The highest sample was 8.3 ppt, about twice EPA’s new limit of 4.0 ppt, which takes effect in 2029. EPA’s health goal is zero. Compliance will be judged on a running annual average, not one sample. Averaged by sampling location, as EPA compares its UCMR 5 results with the limit, the highest was 4.2 ppt, also above it.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits6

Lithium

Comes from the source

At EPA’s benchmark, as EPA rounds

11ppb

Highest sample, Nov. 6, 2024; found in 2 of 10

The highest sample was 11 ppb. As EPA rounds results, that is at EPA’s health reference level of 10 ppb, not above it: EPA counts a result as above it from 15 ppb.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

PFHxS

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

5.7ppt

Highest sample, Nov. 6, 2024; found in 1 of 10

The highest sample was 5.7 ppt, below EPA’s new limit of 10 ppt, which takes effect in 2029.

What handles it

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

38.9ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

Averaged by year, the highest was 38.9 ppb, in 2026, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 40.1 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 38.1 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

20.9ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 20.1 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 20.9 ppb, in 2025, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 20.1 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 13.5 ppb, in 2019.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.74ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.74 ppm, in 2026, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. Its highest single sample was 0.79 ppm. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 1.6 ppm, in 2015.

What handles it

PFBS

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

8.6ppt

Highest sample, Nov. 6, 2024; found in 2 of 10

The highest sample was 8.6 ppt, below EPA’s hazard index benchmark of 2,000 ppt. PFBS has no legal limit or health goal of its own.

What handles it

Illinois utilities above EPA’s PFAS limits

Also found, with no federal limit

EPA measured these PFAS to learn how often they occur. None has a legal limit or a health goal yet.

CompoundHighest sampleFound inCertification claim
PFPeA14 ppt3 of 10None covers it
PFHxA13 ppt3 of 10None covers it
PFBA8.7 ppt1 of 10None covers it
PFHpA3.6 ppt1 of 10NSF/ANSI 53: Total PFAS Reduction
26 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.

From routine monitoring

  • Arsenic
  • Chromium (total)
  • Lead
  • Nitrate

PFAS and lithium, from EPA’s UCMR 5 sampling

  • 11Cl-PF3OUdS
  • 4:2 FTS
  • 6:2 FTS
  • 8:2 FTS
  • 9Cl-PF3ONS
  • ADONA
  • HFPO-DA (GenX)
  • NEtFOSAA
  • NFDHA
  • NMeFOSAA
  • PFDA
  • PFDoA
  • PFEESA
  • PFHpS
  • PFMBA
  • PFMPA
  • PFNA
  • PFOS
  • PFPeS
  • PFTA
  • PFTrDA
  • PFUnA

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: PFOA Reduction

    For: PFOA

    Other certifiers’ wording: Total PFAS Reduction; Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA)

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claim: Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA)

    For: PFOA

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 water filters for PFAS, ranked

Hardness

Very hard, typically 380 mg/L (22.2 grains per gallon), across 5 sampling points, 2017 to 2024.

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 22.2 grains per gallon, salt includedSoftener or salt-free conditioner?Illinois water hardness, utility by utility

Disinfectant

IL American - Whispering Hills reported disinfecting with chlorine, not chloramine, at all 5 of its sampling points, in its 2024 sampling for EPA.

Chlorine leaves water that sits out for a few days, CDC says. A filter certified for it carries a chlorine claim under NSF/ANSI 42; a shower filter, a free chlorine claim under NSF/ANSI 177. This is what the utility reported for that sampling. Its annual water quality report says what it uses now.

Chlorine vs. chloramineShower filters, by what their listings cover

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
Lead and Copper Rule RevisionsThe required inventory of lead service lines was not completed or submitted on time.EPA: LSL InventoryOct. 17, 2024—Resolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 61 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride, arsenic, chromium (total) and nitrate results here are Illinois’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. IL American - Whispering Hills’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 samples are from May 13, 2024 to Nov. 6, 2024; Illinois’s results run from Feb. 5, 2020 to Sept. 2, 2026.

Testing your own tap

IL American - Whispering Hills’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 Illinois certifies.

The 3 labs Illinois certifies closest to the area IL American - Whispering Hills serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Pace Analytical Services, LLC - McHenry

    McHenry, IL · about 4 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (815) 344-4044

  • McHenry County Health Department

    Woodstock, IL · about 11 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (815) 334-4585

  • Lake County Environmental Laboratory

    Libertyville, IL · about 16 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (847) 377-8017

Illinois Department of Public Health: Coliform bacteria and nitrate testing for private wells, with sample bottles from your local health department, or from the department's nearest regional office where there is none. You mail the sample to the lab, and results come back through the health department. Well Sampling for Coliform & Nitrate, Illinois Department of Public Health.

All 30 certified labs for Illinois

Sources

PWSID IL1115700. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in McHenry County

All Illinois utilities

What to do next