Skip to content
TapBuff
ZIP

Brewster

What EPA’s and Minnesota’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
506 people
Connections
221
Water source
Groundwater bought from another system
Based in
Brewster, MN
County
Nobles
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

56119

The short answer

2 results are above the health goal. The worst: Lead, above the health goal. No health-based violations on file since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2020 to 2023.

Arsenic, nitrate, total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and haloacetic acids (HAA5): Minnesota’s yearly summaries per water system, 2023 to 2025.

Above the health goal2

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

3.0ppb

90th percentile, 2021 to 2023

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 3.0 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

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

1.4ppb

Highest yearly average, 2023 to 2025

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.4 ppb, in 2025: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. That was also the latest 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”

Below EPA’s limits3

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

6.2ppm

Highest yearly average, 2023 to 2025

2025 average: 5.8 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 6.2 ppm, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2025, the latest year on file, it averaged 5.8 ppm.

What handles it

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

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

15.3ppb

Highest yearly average, 2023 to 2025

2025 average: 12.8 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 15.3 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2025, the latest year on file, it averaged 12.8 ppb.

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

7.4ppb

Highest yearly average, 2023 to 2025

2025 average: 5.3 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 7.4 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2025, the latest year on file, it averaged 5.3 ppb.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

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

    For: Lead, Arsenic

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

  • NSF/ANSI 58

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

    For: Lead, Arsenic

    Other certifiers’ wording: 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 water filters for lead, ranked

The best reverse osmosis systems, ranked

Violations since 2016

No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016. There are 2 monitoring or reporting violations: a sample missed, late or not reported.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Arsenic, nitrate, total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and haloacetic acids (HAA5) results here are Minnesota’s own yearly summaries from 2023 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Brewster’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; Minnesota’s yearly summaries cover 2023 to 2025.

Testing your own tap

Brewster’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 Minnesota certifies.

The 2 labs Minnesota certifies closest to the area Brewster serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Southwest Health and Human Services

    Marshall, MN · about 53 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate

    (507) 537-6713

  • Minnesota Valley Testing Laboratories, Inc.

    New Ulm, MN · about 64 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals

    (507) 354-8517

All 24 certified labs for Minnesota

Sources

PWSID MN1530003. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Nobles County

All Minnesota utilities

What to do next