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Madelia

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
2,319 people
Connections
905
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Madelia, MN
County
Watonwan
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

56062

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit, and 1 more is above the health goal. The worst: Copper, above the action level. 1 health-based violation since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2007 to 2025.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5) and nitrate: Minnesota’s yearly summaries per water system, 2023 to 2025, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Fluoride, arsenic and chromium (total): EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from Jan. 23, 2012 to Oct. 29, 2019. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.

Above the legal limit1

Copper

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the action level

1.5ppm

90th percentile, 2023 to 2025

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 1.5 ppm, above EPA’s action level of 1.3 ppm.

What handles it

Above the health goal1

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

2.0ppb

90th percentile, 2026

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 2.0 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 limits4

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

58ppb

Highest yearly average, 2023 to 2025

Averaged by year, the highest was 58 ppb, in 2025, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. That was also the latest year on file.

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

17.9ppb

Highest yearly average, 2023 to 2025

Averaged by year, the highest was 17.9 ppb, in 2025, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. That was also the latest year on file.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.99ppm

Highest yearly average, 2012 to 2019

2019 average: 0.64 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.99 ppm, in 2012, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. Its highest single sample was 1.1 ppm. In 2019, the latest year on file, its five samples averaged 0.64 ppm.

What handles it

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

2.1ppm

Highest yearly average, 2023 to 2025

2025 average: 1.9 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 2.1 ppm, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2025, the latest year on file, it averaged 1.9 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 2.2 ppm, in 2015.

What handles it

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

    For: Copper, Lead

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Copper Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: Copper, 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 RuleA required study or plan for corrosion control was not done on time.EPA: OCCT/SOWT Study/RecommendationApril 1, 2026—Resolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 1 monitoring or reporting violation not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5) and nitrate results here are Minnesota’s own yearly summaries from 2023 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Fluoride, arsenic and chromium (total) come from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Madelia’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; Minnesota’s yearly summaries cover 2023 to 2025; EPA’s compliance samples are from Jan. 23, 2012 to Oct. 29, 2019.

Testing your own tap

Madelia’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 3 labs Minnesota certifies closest to the area Madelia serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Minnesota Valley Testing Laboratories, Inc.

    New Ulm, MN · about 18 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals

    (507) 354-8517

  • UC Laboratory

    Janesville, MN · about 35 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, metals

    (507) 234-5835

  • Southwest Health and Human Services

    Marshall, MN · about 72 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate

    (507) 537-6713

All 24 certified labs for Minnesota

Sources

PWSID MN1830004. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Watonwan County

All Minnesota utilities

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