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Paullina 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
996 people
Connections
637
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Paullina, IA
County
O'Brien
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

51046

The short answer

Nothing in EPA’s and Iowa’s records for this utility is above a health goal. That covers nitrate, arsenic and other regulated chemicals, plus lead and copper, not everything. No health-based violations on file since 2016.

What was found

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride, nitrate, arsenic and chromium (total): Iowa’s own results, samples taken from Jan. 8, 2020 to Aug. 19, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Below EPA’s limits4

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

20.2ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026, one sample: 13 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 20.2 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 13 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 23.9 ppb, in 2019.

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

13.2ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 13.2 ppb, in 2020, 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 18.7 ppb, in 2018.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.85ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2024

2024 average: 0.57 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.85 ppm, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. Its highest single sample was 0.89 ppm. In 2024, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 0.57 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 1.2 ppm, in 2013.

What handles it

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

1.4ppm

Highest sample; found in 7 of 7

2026, one sample: 1.1 ppm

The highest sample, in 2025, was 1.4 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 1.1 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 3.9 ppm, in 2017.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”
3 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Arsenic
  • Chromium (total)
  • Lead

Violations since 2016

No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016. There is 1 monitoring or reporting violation: a sample missed, late or not reported.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride, nitrate, arsenic and chromium (total) results here are Iowa’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Paullina 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. 8, 2020 to Aug. 19, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Paullina 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 Paullina 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 16 miles

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

    (712) 225-6989

  • State Hygienic Laboratory - Lakeside

    Milford, IA · about 35 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, minerals and other inorganics

    (712) 337-3669

  • Siouxland District Health Department

    Sioux City, IA · about 46 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, minerals and other inorganics

    (712) 234-3908

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 IA7139032. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in O'Brien County

All Iowa utilities

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