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Iowa Valley Estates

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
46 people
Connections
25
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Marengo, IA
County
Iowa
Owner
Private
The ZIP code it serves

52301

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. 9 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2011 to 2025.

Nitrate, fluoride, arsenic and chromium (total): Iowa’s own results, samples taken from Jan. 6, 2020 to Sept. 1, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the legal limit1

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Above the legal limit

19ppm

Highest sample; found in 48 of 48

2026 average: 3.9 ppm

In 2023, nine samples were above EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm, the highest 19 ppm. The next sample at the same point, within 30 days, kept the average above the limit for five; four have no follow-up sample on file within 30 days. In 2026, the latest year on file, its nine samples averaged 3.9 ppm. EPA recorded violations for nitrate at this utility in 2022 and 2023. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 6.3 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

8.0ppb

90th percentile, 2025

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 8.0 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

0.15ppm

Highest yearly average, 2023

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.15 ppm, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. That is the only year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.18 ppm, in 2014.

What handles it

2 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Arsenic
  • Chromium (total)

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

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 SampleOct. 1, 2023 to Oct. 31, 202313 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleSept. 1, 2023 to Sept. 30, 202313 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleAug. 1, 2023 to Aug. 31, 202314 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleJuly 1, 2023 to July 31, 202313 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleJune 1, 2023 to June 30, 202313 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, 202312 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, 202311 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, 2023 to March 31, 202316 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, 2022 to March 31, 202319 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, fluoride, arsenic and chromium (total) results here are Iowa’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Iowa Valley Estates’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. 1, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Iowa Valley Estates’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 Iowa Valley Estates serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Linn County Public Health Department

    Cedar Rapids, IA · about 25 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate

    (319) 892-6000

  • State Hygienic Laboratory - Coralville

    Coralville, IA · about 26 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts, PFAS, radioactivity

    (319) 335-4500

  • Microbac Laboratories - Waterloo

    Waterloo, IA · about 45 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate

    (319) 235-4440

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 IA4800634. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Iowa County

All Iowa utilities

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