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Southwest Avoyelles Water District

What EPA’s and CDC’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
1,053 people
Connections
351
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Bunkie, LA
County
Avoyelles Parish
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

71322

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit, and 1 more is above the health goal. The worst: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), above the legal limit. 8 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2004 to 2025.

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 Jan. 1, 1994. None since is on file, so it is not counted as a current finding.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5) and nitrate: Louisiana’s yearly averages per water system, as CDC’s Environmental Public Health Tracking Network publishes them, 2020 to 2022, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Fluoride, arsenic, chromium (total) and uranium: EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from July 7, 2014 to Nov. 1, 2019. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.

Above the legal limit1

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Above the legal limit

67.3ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2022

2022 average: 56.9 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 67.3 ppb, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2022, the latest year on file, it averaged 56.9 ppb. EPA judges this limit at each sampling point, and recorded a violation for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at this utility in 2024. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 82.3 ppb, in 2014, and EPA recorded violations in 2014 and 2015.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”

Above the health goal1

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

0.51ppb

90th percentile, 2023 to 2025

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 0.51 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 limits2

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

3.0ppm

Highest yearly average, 2014 to 2019

2019 average: 2.8 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 3.0 ppm, in 2014, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. Its highest single sample was 3.4 ppm. In 2019, the latest year on file, its four samples averaged 2.8 ppm.

What handles it

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

26.3ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2022

2022 average: 23.6 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 26.3 ppb, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2022, the latest year on file, it averaged 23.6 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 33.7 ppb, in 2012.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

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

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: Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), Lead

    Other certifiers’ wording: VOC Reduction

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), Lead

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 water filters for lead, ranked

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
Lead and Copper Rule RevisionsThe required inventory of lead service lines was not completed or submitted on time.EPA: LSL InventoryOct. 17, 2024—Resolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2024 to Dec. 31, 20240.086 MG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2024 to Sept. 30, 20240.087 MG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2024 to June 30, 20240.082 MG/LResolved
Groundwater RuleA significant problem found in a state inspection was not fixed on time.EPA: Failure To Address DeficiencyDec. 2, 2021—Resolved
Groundwater RuleA significant problem found in a state inspection was not fixed on time.EPA: Failure To Address DeficiencyMay 3, 2021—Addressed
Groundwater RuleA significant problem found in a state inspection was not fixed on time.EPA: Failure To Address DeficiencyMay 3, 2021—Addressed
Revised Total Coliform RuleColiform results required a check of the system, and the check or its fixes were not done on time.EPA: Treatment Technique, Level 1 Assessment (RTCR)March 5, 2021—Unaddressed
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 16 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5) and nitrate results here are Louisiana’s yearly averages as CDC publishes them, from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Fluoride, arsenic, chromium (total) and uranium come from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Southwest Avoyelles Water District’s own annual report, which it must send you every year, has newer results for those and 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; CDC’s yearly averages for Louisiana cover 2020 to 2022; EPA’s compliance samples are from July 7, 2014 to Nov. 1, 2019.

Testing your own tap

Southwest Avoyelles Water District’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 Louisiana certifies.

The 3 labs Louisiana certifies closest to the area Southwest Avoyelles Water District serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • LDH Rapides Regional Laboratory

    Alexandria, LA · about 36 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (318) 487-5282

  • SGS North America, Inc. - Scott

    Scott, LA · about 42 miles

    Certified for nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts

  • Element Materials Technology Lafayette, LLC

    Lafayette, LA · about 50 miles

    Certified for lead and copper, metals

All 48 certified labs for Louisiana

Sources

PWSID LA1009015. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Avoyelles Parish

All Louisiana utilities

What to do next