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Hastings 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
152 people
Connections
88
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Hastings, IA
County
Mills
Owner
Local government
Hardness
Very hard
The ZIP code it serves

51540

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit, and 2 more are above the health goal. The worst: Nitrate, above the legal limit. 6 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2008 to 2023.

Copper: EPA’s file records a utility’s copper only when it exceeds the action level. The last here was 1.4 ppm, for the period ending June 30, 2008. None since is on file, so it is not counted as a current finding.

Nitrate, arsenic, fluoride, chromium (total), haloacetic acids (HAA5) and total trihalomethanes (TTHM): Iowa’s own results, samples taken from Jan. 6, 2020 to Sept. 28, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the legal limit1

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Above the legal limit

11.2ppm

Highest sample; found in 80 of 81

2026 average: 8.5 ppm

From 2023 to 2024, eight samples were above EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm, the highest 11.2 ppm in 2023. The next sample at the same point, within 30 days, kept the average above the limit for four; one came back under and three have no follow-up sample on file within 30 days. In 2026, the latest year on file, its eight samples averaged 8.5 ppm. EPA recorded violations for nitrate at this utility in 2023 and 2024. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 9.9 ppm, in 2013.

What handles it

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

Above the health goal2

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

1.1ppb

Highest yearly average, 2021

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.1 ppb, in 2021: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. That is the only year on file.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

0.6ppb

90th percentile, 2021 to 2023

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 0.6 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 limits1

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.2ppm

Highest yearly average, 2021 to 2024

2024, one sample: 0.2 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.2 ppm, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2024, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.2 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.3 ppm, in 2012.

What handles it

3 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Chromium (total)
  • Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
  • Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

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), Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: Nitrate, Arsenic, Lead

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

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction, Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: Nitrate, Arsenic, Lead

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

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

Very hard, 295 mg/L (17.3 grains per gallon), at its one sampling point, 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 at 17.3 grains per gallon, 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 SampleApril 1, 2024 to April 30, 202411 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, 2024 to March 31, 202410.9 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleDec. 1, 2023 to Dec. 31, 202311.1 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, 2023 to Nov. 30, 202311.2 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, 2023 to May 31, 202310.9 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, 2023 to April 30, 202310.6 MG/LResolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 2 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Nitrate, arsenic, fluoride, chromium (total), haloacetic acids (HAA5) and total trihalomethanes (TTHM) results here are Iowa’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Hastings 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. 6, 2020 to Sept. 28, 2026.

Testing your own tap

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

  • Midwest Laboratories

    Omaha, NE · about 35 miles

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

    (402) 334-7770

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 IA6527038. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Mills County

All Iowa utilities

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