Rice Lake
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
- 1,085 people
- Connections
- 403
- Water source
- Surface water bought from another system
- Based in
- Duluth, MN
- County
- St. Louis
- Owner
- Local government
The ZIP code it serves
The short answer
Nothing in EPA’s and Minnesota’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
Haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and nitrate: Minnesota’s yearly summaries per water system, 2023 to 2025.
Below EPA’s limits3
Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
Forms or is added in treatment
12.8ppb
Highest yearly average, 2023 to 2025
2025 average: 11.1 ppb
Averaged by year, the highest was 12.8 ppb, in 2024, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2025, the latest year on file, it averaged 11.1 ppb.
What handles it
No certification claim covers this compound yet.
Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)
Forms or is added in treatment
16.6ppb
Highest yearly average, 2023 to 2025
2025 average: 14.2 ppb
Averaged by year, the highest was 16.6 ppb, in 2024, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2025, the latest year on file, it averaged 14.2 ppb.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
Nitrate
Comes from the source
0.4ppm
Highest yearly average, 2023 to 2025
2025 average: 0.4 ppm
Averaged by year, the highest was 0.4 ppm, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2025, the latest year on file, it averaged 0.4 ppm.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”
One compound tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
- Lead
Violations since 2016
No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016.
What this report can’t tell you
Everything else. Haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and nitrate results here are Minnesota’s own yearly summaries from 2023 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Rice Lake’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
The 3 labs Minnesota certifies closest to the area Rice Lake serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Pace Analytical Services, LLC - Duluth
Duluth, MN · about 22 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate
RMB Environmental Laboratories, Inc. - Virginia
Virginia, MN · about 42 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate
Pace Analytical Services, LLC - Virginia
Virginia, MN · about 42 miles
Certified for bacteria
Sources
- EPA UCMR 5 occurrence data, file of Oct. 15, 2026
- EPA SDWA bulk download (SDWIS federal data), 2026 Q3
- Minnesota Department of Health, Minnesota Public Health Data Access, results from Jan. 1, 2023 to Dec. 31, 2025, read Oct. 8, 2026
- Certified labs: Minnesota Department of Health, accredited labs in Minnesota accepting drinking water samples from private well users, read Oct. 10, 2026; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer
- Limits and goals: each contaminant’s page, with its EPA source.
- How this page is built: methodology.
PWSID MN1690049. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.
What to do next
- Nothing here is above a health goalIn EPA’s and Minnesota’s records for this utility. They don’t cover everything, which is why the next step matters.Every contaminant TapBuff tracks
- Get the utility’s own reportRice Lake must send you a water quality report every year. It covers contaminants this page does not show.How to read it
- Test your own tap for leadYour service line, solder and fixtures decide the lead at your faucet, not the utility’s average.Lead in your water: what to do
- Decide if you want a filter at allA filter for taste or chlorine is a preference, not a need. The standards say what each kind can do.NSF/ANSI standards, decoded