Big Sky Colony Cut Bank
What EPA’s and Montana’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
- 107 people
- Connections
- 15
- Water source
- Groundwater
- Based in
- Cut Bank, MT
- County
- Glacier
- Owner
- Private
The short answer
1 result is above the health goal. The worst: Uranium, above the health goal. No health-based violations on file since 2016.
What handles itWhat was found
Uranium, nitrate, haloacetic acids (HAA5), arsenic and total trihalomethanes (TTHM): Montana’s own results, samples taken from Feb. 3, 2020 to Sept. 22, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.
Above the health goal1
Uranium
Comes from the source
0.8ppb
Highest yearly average, 2025
Averaged by year, the highest was 0.8 ppb, in 2025: below EPA’s legal limit of 30 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. That is the only year on file.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Uranium”
Below EPA’s limits2
Nitrate
Comes from the source
6.3ppm
Highest sample; found in 17 of 17
2026, one sample: 1.6 ppm
The highest sample, in 2021, was 6.3 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 1.6 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 11 ppm, in 2014.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”
Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
Forms or is added in treatment
0.34ppb
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026
2026: not found
Averaged by year, the highest was 0.34 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 3.5 ppb, in 2014.
What handles it
No certification claim covers this compound yet.
3 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
- Arsenic
- Lead
- Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)
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 58
Claim: Uranium
For: Uranium
At the tap, or for the whole house?
These come with the water itself, so a whole-house system certified for the same claims treats every tap and shower. A filter at the tap treats drinking water for much less. How whole-house systems compare.
Filters with those claims on a certifier’s listing
None of the filters TapBuff has checked so far carry these claims. Search the certifier listings for the claim above.
Compare five-year costsViolations since 2016
No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016. There are 57 monitoring or reporting violations: a sample missed, late or not reported.
What this report can’t tell you
Everything else. Uranium, nitrate, haloacetic acids (HAA5), arsenic and total trihalomethanes (TTHM) results here are Montana’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Big Sky Colony Cut Bank’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; Montana’s results run from Feb. 3, 2020 to Sept. 22, 2026.
Testing your own tap
No lab Montana certifies is within 75 miles of the area Big Sky Colony Cut Bank serves on the state’s list. Some take samples by mail; the state’s page lists them all.
Montana State Environmental Laboratory: Private well testing packages for bacteria, metals, nutrients, anions, organic chemicals and more, open to the public. Samples can be mailed, sent by the lab's free courier, or dropped off at the lab. Environmental Laboratory, Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services.
All 36 certified labs for MontanaSources
- EPA UCMR 5 occurrence data, file of Oct. 15, 2026
- EPA SDWA bulk download (SDWIS federal data), 2026 Q3
- Montana Department of Environmental Quality, Public Water Supply, results from Jan. 2, 2020 to Oct. 6, 2026, read Oct. 18, 2026
- EPA Six-Year Review 4 compliance monitoring data, 2012 to 2019, file of Feb. 5, 2024
- Limits and goals: each contaminant’s page, with its EPA source.
- How this page is built: methodology.
PWSID MT0001647. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.
What to do next
- Read up on UraniumWhat each one does to health, where it comes from, and the certification claim that addresses it.About Uranium
- Get the utility’s own reportBig Sky Colony Cut Bank 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
- Compare certified filtersWhat the filters certified for these results cost over five years, cartridges included.Compare five-year costs