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Elk Creek Colony

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
84 people
Connections
7
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Augusta, MT
County
Lewis and Clark
Owner
Private
The ZIP code it serves

59410

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit, and 2 more are above the health goal. The worst: Nitrate, above the legal limit. 7 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2011 to 2027.

Nitrate, uranium, fluoride, arsenic, chromium (total), haloacetic acids (HAA5) and total trihalomethanes (TTHM): Montana’s own results, samples taken from Feb. 24, 2020 to Aug. 14, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the legal limit1

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Above the legal limit

25.8ppm

Highest sample; found in 63 of 63

2026 average: 0.25 ppm

In 2020, two samples were above EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm, the highest 25.8 ppm. Two have no follow-up sample on file within 30 days. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 0.25 ppm. EPA recorded a violation for nitrate at this utility in 2020. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 30.8 ppm, in 2019, and EPA recorded violations in 2018 and 2019.

What handles it

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

Above the health goal2

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

3.0ppb

90th percentile, 2025 to 2027

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

Uranium

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

3.0ppb

Highest yearly average, 2022

Averaged by year, the highest was 3.0 ppb, in 2022: below EPA’s legal limit of 30 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. That is the only year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 3.0 ppb, in 2012.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits1

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.2ppm

Highest yearly average, 2022 to 2025

2025, one sample: 0.2 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.2 ppm, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2025, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.2 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.3 ppm, in 2013.

What handles it

4 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Arsenic
  • Chromium (total)
  • Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
  • 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 53

    Claims: Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge), Lead Reduction

    For: Nitrate, Lead

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction, Lead Reduction, Uranium

    For: Nitrate, Lead, Uranium

    Other certifiers’ wording: Nitrate

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 reverse osmosis systems, ranked

The best water filters for lead, ranked

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
Nitrate-NitriteA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleApril 1, 2020 to June 30, 202025.8 MG/LResolved
Nitrate-NitriteA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleJan. 1, 2020 to March 31, 202016.4 MG/LResolved
Nitrate-NitriteA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleOct. 1, 2019 to Dec. 31, 201912.6 MG/LResolved
Nitrate-NitriteA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleJuly 1, 2019 to Sept. 30, 201928.9 MG/LResolved
Nitrate-NitriteA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleApril 1, 2019 to June 30, 201915.5 MG/LResolved
Nitrate-NitriteA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleJuly 1, 2018 to Sept. 30, 201823.3 MG/LResolved
Nitrate-NitriteA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleApril 1, 2018 to June 30, 201824.7 MG/LResolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 10 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Nitrate, uranium, fluoride, arsenic, chromium (total), haloacetic acids (HAA5) and total trihalomethanes (TTHM) results here are Montana’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Elk Creek Colony’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. 24, 2020 to Aug. 14, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Elk Creek Colony’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 Montana certifies.

The 3 labs Montana certifies closest to the area Elk Creek Colony serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Energy Laboratories, Inc.

    Helena, MT · about 65 miles

    Certified for bacteria, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals

    (406) 442-0711

  • DPHHS State of Montana Environmental Laboratory

    Helena, MT · about 69 miles

    Certified for bacteria, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals

    (406) 444-3444

  • Alpine Analytical

    Helena, MT · about 69 miles

    Certified for bacteria, minerals and other inorganics

    (406) 449-6282

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 Montana

Sources

PWSID MT0004739. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Lewis and Clark County

All Montana utilities

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