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Richland Co Valley View WUA

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
85 people
Connections
33
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Sidney, MT
County
Richland
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

59270

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit, and 1 more is above the health goal. The worst: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), above the legal limit. 12 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2001 to 2025.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride, nitrate, arsenic, chromium (total) and uranium: Montana’s own results, samples taken from Aug. 12, 2020 to Aug. 17, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the legal limit1

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Above the legal limit

145ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 71 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 145 ppb, in 2022, above EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 174 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 71 ppb. EPA recorded violations for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at this utility in 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 1.0 ppb, in 2019.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”

Above the health goal1

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

5.0ppb

90th percentile, 2023 to 2025

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 5.0 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 limits3

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

33.3ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 12.7 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 33.3 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 39 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 12.7 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.76 ppb, in 2017.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

2.0ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2025

Averaged by year, the highest was 2.0 ppm, in 2025, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. Its highest single sample was 25.6 ppm. That was also the latest year on file. EPA recorded no violation for fluoride at this utility since 2020. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.65 ppm, in 2019.

What handles it

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.06ppm

Highest sample; found in 4 of 6

2025, one sample: 0.02 ppm

The highest sample, in 2022, was 0.06 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2025, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.02 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 0.02 ppm, in 2019.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”
3 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Arsenic
  • Chromium (total)
  • Uranium

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: Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), Lead

    Other certifiers’ wording: VOC Reduction

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), 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
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2026 to Sept. 30, 20260.097 MG/LUnaddressed
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2026 to June 30, 20260.097 MG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2026 to March 31, 20260.12 MG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2025 to Dec. 31, 20250.12 MG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2025 to Sept. 30, 20250.11 MG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2025 to June 30, 20250.14 MG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2025 to March 31, 20250.1 MG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2024 to Dec. 31, 2024105 UG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2024 to Sept. 30, 2024110 UG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2024 to June 30, 20240.12 MG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2024 to March 31, 20240.14 MG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2023 to Dec. 31, 20230.14 MG/LArchived
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 12 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride, nitrate, arsenic, chromium (total) and uranium results here are Montana’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Richland Co Valley View WUA’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 Aug. 12, 2020 to Aug. 17, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Richland Co Valley View WUA’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 lab Montana certifies closest to the area Richland Co Valley View WUA serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Astro-Chem Lab Inc.

    Williston, ND · about 45 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (701) 572-7355

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 MT0000514. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Richland County

All Montana utilities

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