Skip to content
TapBuff
ZIP

Early Municipal Water Supply

What EPA’s and Iowa’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
587 people
Connections
349
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Early, IA
County
Sac
Owner
Local government
Hardness
Varies by source
The ZIP code it serves

50535

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit, and 1 more is above the health goal. The worst: Nitrate, above the legal limit. 5 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2014 to 2026.

Nitrate, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride, chromium (total) and arsenic: Iowa’s own results, samples taken from Jan. 13, 2020 to Sept. 9, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the legal limit1

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Above the legal limit

13.4ppm

Highest sample; found in 81 of 82

2026 average: 2.1 ppm

From 2022 to 2025, five samples were above EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm, the highest 13.4 ppm in 2022. The next sample at the same point, within 30 days, kept the average above the limit for two; one came back under and two have no follow-up sample on file within 30 days. In 2026, the latest year on file, its nine samples averaged 2.1 ppm. EPA recorded violations for nitrate at this utility in 2022 and 2025. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 4.0 ppm, in 2012.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”

Above the health goal1

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

1.8ppb

90th percentile, 2026

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 1.8 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 limits4

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

35ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

Averaged by year, the highest was 35 ppb, in 2026, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 31 ppb, in 2016.

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

16.9ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 16.9 ppb, in 2025, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. 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 yearly average of 27 ppb, in 2016.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.76ppm

Highest yearly average, 2023 to 2024

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.76 ppm, in 2024, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. Its highest single sample was 1.5 ppm. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.32 ppm, in 2014.

What handles it

Chromium (total)

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.5ppb

Highest yearly average, 2023 to 2024

2024: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.5 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. In 2024, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample.

What handles it

One compound tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Arsenic

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: Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge), Lead Reduction

    For: Nitrate, Lead

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: Nitrate, Lead

    Other certifiers’ wording: Nitrate

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 reverse osmosis systems, ranked

The best water filters for lead, ranked

Hardness

Moderately hard to very hard depending on the source, 72 to 771 mg/L (4.2 to 45.1 grains per gallon), across 3 sampling points, in 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, salt includedSoftener or salt-free conditioner?Iowa water hardness, utility by utility

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleJune 1, 2025 to June 30, 202510.7 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleMay 1, 2025 to May 31, 202511 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleApril 1, 2025 to April 30, 202511.8 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleMarch 1, 2025 to March 31, 202511.3 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleNov. 1, 2022 to Nov. 30, 202213.4 MG/LResolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Nitrate, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride, chromium (total) and arsenic results here are Iowa’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Early Municipal Water Supply’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 didn’t sample this utility; Iowa’s results run from Jan. 13, 2020 to Sept. 9, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Early Municipal Water Supply’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 Iowa certifies.

The 3 labs Iowa certifies closest to the area Early Municipal Water Supply serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Foundation Analytical Laboratory

    Cherokee, IA · about 29 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, PFAS

    (712) 225-6989

  • Analytical & Consulting Services

    Sergeant Bluff, IA · about 59 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate

    (712) 943-4888

  • State Hygienic Laboratory - Lakeside

    Milford, IA · about 60 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, minerals and other inorganics

    (712) 337-3669

State Hygienic Laboratory at the University of Iowa: Through the Grants-to-Counties program, private well owners in participating counties can have their water tested for total coliform bacteria and nitrate. Start with the county sanitarian at your county health department. No cost in a participating county. The Grants-to-Counties Program, State Hygienic Lab at the University of Iowa.

All 36 certified labs for Iowa

Sources

PWSID IA8114000. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Sac County

All Iowa utilities

What to do next