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Watkins Glen Village

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
2,149 people
Connections
943
Water source
Surface water
Based in
Watkins Glen (V), NY
County
Schuyler
Owner
Local government
The 2 ZIP codes it serves

14818, 14891

The short answer

1 result is above the health goal. The worst: Lead, above the health goal. 3 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2010 to 2026.

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.

Chromium (total) and fluoride: EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from April 25, 2012 to July 2, 2019. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.

Above the health goal1

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

0.92ppb

90th percentile, 2026

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 0.92 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

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

56.5ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2024

2024 average: 50.1 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 56.5 ppb, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 86.1 ppb. In 2024, the latest year on file, it averaged 50.1 ppb. EPA recorded no violation for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at this utility since 2020. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 82.5 ppb, in 2012.

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

Below EPA’s limits

21.6ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2024

2024 average: 20.3 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 21.6 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 30 ppb. In 2024, the latest year on file, it averaged 20.3 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 31.3 ppb, in 2015.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.54ppm

Highest sample; found in 5 of 5

2024 average: 0.54 ppm

The highest sample, in 2024, was 0.54 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. That was also the latest year on file, and it averaged 0.54 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 0.54 ppm, in 2014.

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)
  • Fluoride

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.”

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
Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment RuleOne cloudiness reading was above the maximum allowed.EPA: Single Turbidity Exceed (Enhanced SWTR)Aug. 1, 2018 to Aug. 31, 2018—Resolved
Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment RuleToo many readings in a month showed cloudiness above the filtration standard.EPA: Monthly Turbidity Exceed (Enhanced SWTR)Aug. 1, 2018 to Aug. 31, 2018—Resolved
Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment RuleOne cloudiness reading was above the maximum allowed.EPA: Single Turbidity Exceed (Enhanced SWTR)Aug. 1, 2018 to Aug. 31, 2018—Resolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 1 monitoring or reporting violation not shown.

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. Chromium (total) and fluoride come from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Watkins Glen Village’s own annual report, which it must send you every year, has newer results for those and 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; EPA’s compliance samples are from April 25, 2012 to July 2, 2019.

Testing your own tap

Watkins Glen Village’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 Watkins Glen Village serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Ghm Environmental

    Savona, NY · about 17 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (607) 583-4332

  • R&J Laboratories

    Penn Yan, NY · about 20 miles

    Certified for lead and copper

    (315) 536-9302

  • Community Science Institute, Inc.

    Ithaca, NY · about 20 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate

    (607) 257-6606

All 161 certified labs for New York

Sources

PWSID NY4801188. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Schuyler County

All New York utilities

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