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Ulysses WD #3

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
400 people
Connections
100
Water source
Surface water bought from another system
Based in
Trumansburg, NY
County
Tompkins
Owner
Local government
The 2 ZIP codes it serves

14850, 14882

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. 6 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2007 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 legal limit1

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Above the legal limit

80.3ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2024

2024 average: 55.5 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 80.3 ppb, in 2020, which EPA rounds to 80 ppb to compare: at its legal limit of 80 ppb, not above it. Its highest single sample was 97 ppb. In 2024, the latest year on file, it averaged 55.5 ppb. EPA judges this limit at each sampling point, and recorded a violation for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at this utility in 2020. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 93.8 ppb, in 2016, and EPA recorded violations in 2012 and 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

2.0ppb

90th percentile, 2023 to 2025

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 2.0 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 limits2

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

31.1ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2024

2024 average: 21.4 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 31.1 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 47 ppb. In 2024, the latest year on file, it averaged 21.4 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 27 ppb, in 2019.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

1.3ppm

Highest sample; found in 4 of 5

2024 average: 1.3 ppm

The highest sample, in 2024, was 1.3 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. That was also the latest year on file, and it averaged 1.3 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.
  • 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

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2020 to Dec. 31, 202081 UG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2020 to Sept. 30, 202088 UG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2020 to June 30, 202098 UG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2020 to March 31, 202096 UG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2019 to Dec. 31, 201989 UG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2019 to Sept. 30, 201984.3 UG/LResolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record.

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. Ulysses WD #3’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

Ulysses WD #3’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 Ulysses WD #3 serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Community Science Institute, Inc.

    Ithaca, NY · about 5 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate

    (607) 257-6606

  • Microbac New York-Cortland

    Cortland, NY · about 17 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (607) 753-3403

  • Panek Laboratory LLC Dba Jli Environmental Laboratories

    Auburn, NY · about 29 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate

    (315) 253-4433

All 161 certified labs for New York

Sources

PWSID NY5430047. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Tompkins County

All New York utilities

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