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High Falls Water District

What EPA’s and New York’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
426 people
Connections
167
Water source
Surface water bought from another system
Based in
Rosendale (T), NY
County
Ulster
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

12440

The short answer

2 results are above the limit’s level with no violation recorded, and 1 more is above the health goal. The worst: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), above the limit’s level, no violation. No health-based violations on file since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2020 to 2025.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), nitrate and arsenic: New York’s yearly summaries per water system, 2020 to 2024, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the limit’s level, no violation recorded2

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Above the limit’s level, no violation

178ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2024

2024 average: 80.4 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 178 ppb, in 2020, about twice EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2024, the latest year on file, it averaged 80.4 ppb. EPA judges this limit on running averages at each sampling point, and recorded no violation for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at this utility since 2020. Results like these with no violation often include water sampled before treatment or blending; the utility’s annual report says what reaches the tap. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 73 ppb, in 2018.

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

Above the limit’s level, no violation

61ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2024

2024 average: 17.5 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 61 ppb, in 2020, above EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2024, the latest year on file, it averaged 17.5 ppb. EPA judges this limit on running averages at each sampling point, and recorded no violation for haloacetic acids (HAA5) at this utility since 2020. Results like these with no violation often include water sampled before treatment or blending; the utility’s annual report says what reaches the tap. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 40 ppb, in 2019.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Above the health goal1

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

2.7ppb

90th percentile, 2025

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 2.7 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 limits1

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

2.1ppm

Highest sample; found in 2 of 4

2023: not found

The highest sample, in 2021, was 2.1 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2023, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found.

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.
  • Arsenic

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

No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016. There are 4 monitoring or reporting violations: a sample missed, late or not reported.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), nitrate and arsenic results here are New York’s own yearly summaries from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. High Falls Water District’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; New York’s yearly summaries cover 2020 to 2024.

Testing your own tap

High Falls Water District’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 New York certifies.

The 3 labs New York certifies closest to the area High Falls Water District serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Aqua Check Laboratories, Inc.

    Stone Ridge, NY · about 6 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (845) 687-0420

  • Environmental Labworks Inc.

    Marlboro, NY · about 14 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (845) 236-7823

  • Poughkeepsies' Water Treatment Facility

    Poughkeepsie, NY · about 15 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (845) 451-4173

All 161 certified labs for New York

Sources

PWSID NY5530250. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Ulster County

All New York utilities

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