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Is Charleston, IL tap water safe?

3 utilities serve Charleston, by EPA’s records. Here is what EPA’s and Illinois’s records show for each, against the legal limits and the stricter health goals.

Matched to your utility using EPA records.

The short answer

1 of the 3 utilities serving Charleston has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and Illinois’s records: Charleston.

Charleston, which serves the most people here, has 2 results above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 3.0 ppb, above the health goal. Health goals are stricter than legal limits and are not enforced.

The water from Charleston is moderately hard, 86 mg/L (5 grains per gallon). How Illinois’s water compares.

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 Charleston’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 Charleston’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.

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Every claim, and more filters, in the full report

Water testing near Charleston

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 Illinois certifies.

The 3 labs Illinois certifies closest to Charleston, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Water Lab (EJ Water Coop)

    Dieterich, IL · about 39 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (217) 925-5566

  • Key Laboratory Services, Inc.

    Monticello, IL · about 42 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (217) 875-2691

  • Pace Analytical (former McCoy & McCoy Labs)

    Farmersburg, IN · about 42 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (812) 696-5076

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

ZIP codes in Charleston

Which ZIP codes are in Charleston: 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: Illinois Department of Public Health, certified water microbiology laboratories; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer.

Near Charleston

Towns nearby with a page of their own.

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