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St. Joe Water Department

What EPA’s and CDC’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
460 people
Connections
175
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
St. Joe, IN
County
Dekalb
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

46785

The short answer

1 result is above the limit’s level with no violation recorded, and 1 more is above the health goal. The worst: Fluoride, above the limit’s level, no violation. 4 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Haloacetic acids (HAA5), nitrate and total trihalomethanes (TTHM): Indiana’s yearly averages per water system, as CDC’s Environmental Public Health Tracking Network publishes them, 2022 to 2023, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Fluoride, arsenic, chromium (total) and uranium: EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from Sept. 12, 2012 to March 7, 2018. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.

Above the limit’s level, no violation recorded1

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Above the limit’s level, no violation

300ppm

Highest yearly average, 2012 to 2018

2018, one sample: 0.6 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 300 ppm, in 2015, about 75 times EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2018, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.6 ppm. EPA judges this limit on running averages at each sampling point, and recorded no violation for fluoride at this utility from 2012 to 2019. Results like these with no violation often include water sampled before treatment or blending; the utility’s annual report says what reaches the tap.

What handles it

Above the health goal1

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

1.5ppb

Highest yearly average, 2012 to 2018

2018: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.5 ppb, in 2012: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. In 2018, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”
6 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Chromium (total)
  • Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
  • Lead
  • Nitrate
  • Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)
  • 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: Fluoride, Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction

    For: Fluoride, Arsenic

    Other certifiers’ wording: Arsenic (III) (50 ppb influent level)

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Fluoride Reduction, Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction

    For: Fluoride, Arsenic

    Other certifiers’ wording: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=300 ppb Reduction; Arsenic (V) (300 ppb influent level)

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 fluoride, ranked

The best reverse osmosis systems, ranked

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
Groundwater RuleA significant problem found in a state inspection was not fixed on time.EPA: Failure To Address DeficiencyAug. 8, 2025—Resolved
Groundwater RuleA significant problem found in a state inspection was not fixed on time.EPA: Failure To Address DeficiencyAug. 8, 2025—Resolved
Groundwater RuleA significant problem found in a state inspection was not fixed on time.EPA: Failure To Address DeficiencyAug. 8, 2025—Resolved
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. 5 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Haloacetic acids (HAA5), nitrate and total trihalomethanes (TTHM) results here are Indiana’s yearly averages as CDC publishes them, from 2022 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Fluoride, arsenic, chromium (total) and uranium come from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. St. Joe Water Department’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; CDC’s yearly averages for Indiana cover 2022 to 2023; EPA’s compliance samples are from Sept. 12, 2012 to March 7, 2018.

Testing your own tap

St. Joe Water Department’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 Indiana certifies.

The 3 labs Indiana certifies closest to the area St. Joe Water Department serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

Indiana Department of Health laboratory: Test kits for well water: nitrate, fluoride, and arsenic, lead and copper, ordered from the lab and returned by mail. They are open to the public. Nitrate is $10 a sample plus $6.50 shipping per order, fluoride $10 plus shipping, and the arsenic, lead and copper kit $20 plus $6.50 shipping. Water Testing, Indiana Department of Health.

All 81 certified labs for Indiana

Sources

PWSID IN5217006. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in DeKalb County

All Indiana utilities

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