Skip to content
TapBuff
ZIP

A River Runs Through

What EPA’s and CDC’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
30 people
Connections
25
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Medford, OR
County
Jackson
Owner
Private
The ZIP code it serves

97525

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit, and 2 more are above the health goal. The worst: Nitrate, above the legal limit. 1 health-based violation since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and haloacetic acids (HAA5): Oregon’s yearly averages per water system, as CDC’s Environmental Public Health Tracking Network publishes them, 2020 to 2022, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Nitrate: EPA’s violation records from 2020 on, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Arsenic, uranium, chromium (total) and fluoride: EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from March 12, 2019 to Nov. 11, 2019. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.

Above the legal limit1

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Above the legal limit

12ppm

Limit violation, 2025

EPA recorded a violation of the legal limit for nitrate at this utility in 2025. The highest measured level, for April 1, 2025 to June 30, 2025, was an average of 12 ppm, above EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 4.5 ppm, in 2012.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”

Above the health goal2

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

5.6ppb

Highest yearly average, 2019

Averaged by year, the highest was 5.6 ppb, in 2019: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. That is the only year on file.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”

Uranium

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

0.27ppb

Highest yearly average, 2019

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.27 ppb, in 2019: below EPA’s legal limit of 30 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. Its highest single sample was 0.29 ppb. That is the only year on file.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits2

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

11.4ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2022

2022 average: 4.8 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 11.4 ppb, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2022, the latest year on file, it averaged 4.8 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 2.3 ppb, in 2019.

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

3.7ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2022

2022: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 3.7 ppb, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2022, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

3 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Chromium (total)
  • Fluoride
  • Lead

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: Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge), Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction

    For: Nitrate, Arsenic

    Other certifiers’ wording: Arsenic (III) (50 ppb influent level)

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction, Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction, Uranium

    For: Nitrate, Arsenic, Uranium

    Other certifiers’ wording: Nitrate; Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=300 ppb Reduction; Arsenic (V) (300 ppb influent level)

At the tap, or for the whole house?

These come with the water itself, so a whole-house system certified for the same claims treats every tap and shower. A filter at the tap treats drinking water for much less. 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 reverse osmosis systems, ranked

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
NitrateThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2025 to June 30, 202512 MG/LResolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 88 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and haloacetic acids (HAA5) results here are Oregon’s yearly averages as CDC publishes them, from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Arsenic, uranium, chromium (total) and fluoride come from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. A River Runs Through’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; CDC’s yearly averages for Oregon cover 2020 to 2022; EPA’s compliance samples are from March 12, 2019 to Nov. 11, 2019.

Testing your own tap

A River Runs Through’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 Oregon certifies.

The 3 labs Oregon certifies closest to the area A River Runs Through serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Neilson Research Corporation

    Medford, OR · about 15 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts

    (541) 770-5678

  • Grants Pass Water Laboratory, Inc./The Water Lab

    Grants Pass, OR · about 15 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics

    (541) 476-0733

  • Umpqua Research Company

    Myrtle Creek, OR · about 43 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals

    (541) 863-5201

Oregon State University Extension Well Water Program: Nitrate screening of well water at many of its groundwater education events. The screening is free. Water Testing Guidance for Private Wells, OSU Well Water Program.

All 91 certified labs for Oregon

Sources

PWSID OR4195342. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Jackson County

All Oregon utilities

What to do next