Skip to content
TapBuff
ZIP

Is Dubuque, IA tap water safe?

15 utilities serve Dubuque, by EPA’s records. Here is what EPA’s and Iowa’s records show for each, against the legal limits and the stricter health goals.

Matched to your utility using EPA records.

The short answer

1 of the 15 utilities serving Dubuque has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and Iowa’s records: Table Mound Park.

Dubuque Water Works, which serves the most people here, has 1 result above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029 and 1 result above the health goal. The worst: PFOA at 5.1 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029.

A town can be served by more than one utility, and some homes are on private wells. The name on your water bill tells you which is yours, and your ZIP code narrows it down. They are listed by how many people each serves in Dubuque’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.

5 more utilities in Dubuque

By EPA’s estimate, each serves fewer people in Dubuque than those above.

  • Terrace Heightsserves 548 people · lists Dubuque among the places it serves · no health-based violations since 2016
  • Star Waterserves 110 people · lists Dubuque among the places it serves · no health-based violations since 2016
  • Lore Mound Mobile Home Parkserves 68 people · lists Dubuque among the places it serves · no health-based violations since 2016
  • Shagbark Estatesserves 38 people · lists Dubuque among the places it serves · no health-based violations since 2016
  • Green Brier Subdivisionserves 35 people · lists Dubuque among the places it serves · no health-based violations since 2016

What handles it

Each of these is certified, on a certifier’s listing, for a result above a line in Dubuque Water Works’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.

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

Every claim, and more filters, in the full report

Water testing near Dubuque

A utility tests the water it sends out. A test of your own tap shows what your pipes add, and on a private well it is the only test there is. It takes a lab Iowa certifies.

The 3 labs Iowa certifies closest to Dubuque, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Dubuque County Health Department

    Dubuque, IA · about 4 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (563) 557-7396

  • ChemRight Laboratories

    Maquoketa, IA · about 27 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, minerals and other inorganics

    (563) 652-4226

  • Linn County Public Health Department

    Cedar Rapids, IA · about 60 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate

    (319) 892-6000

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

ZIP codes in Dubuque

Which ZIP codes are in Dubuque: Census 2020 relationship files. Which utilities serve them, and how many people: EPA SDWIS and EPA’s service area map. Each utility’s results: EPA UCMR 5, EPA SDWIS, and EPA’s and the state’s compliance monitoring, as its report lists them. How they are measured: methodology. Certified labs: Iowa DNR, laboratories certified for drinking water; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer.

Near Dubuque

Towns nearby with a page of their own.

What to do next