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Is Bismarck, ND tap water safe?

4 utilities serve Bismarck, by EPA’s records. Here is what EPA’s records show for each, against the legal limits and the stricter health goals.

Matched to your utility using EPA records.

The short answer

1 of the 4 utilities serving Bismarck has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s records: City of Lincoln.

City of Bismarck, which serves the most people here, has 3 results above the health goal and 1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: Lithium at 40.9 ppb, above EPA’s health benchmark. Health goals are stricter than legal limits and are not enforced.

A town can be served by more than one utility, and some homes are on private wells. The name on your water bill tells you which is yours, and your ZIP code narrows it down. They are listed by how many people each serves in Bismarck’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.

What handles it

Each of these is certified, on a certifier’s listing, for a result above a line in City of Bismarck’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.

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Every claim, and more filters, in the full report

Water testing near Bismarck

A utility tests the water it sends out. A test of your own tap shows what your pipes add, and on a private well it is the only test there is. It takes a lab North Dakota certifies.

TapBuff hasn’t read North Dakota’s list of certified labs yet. The national page links every state’s own list.

Certified labs, state by state

ZIP codes in Bismarck

Which ZIP codes are in Bismarck: Census 2020 relationship files. Which utilities serve them, and how many people: EPA SDWIS and EPA’s service area map. Each utility’s results: EPA UCMR 5, EPA SDWIS, and EPA’s and the state’s compliance monitoring, as its report lists them. How they are measured: methodology.

Near Bismarck

Towns nearby with a page of their own.

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