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Deer Island Heights WS

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
60 people
Connections
21
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
St Helens, OR
County
Columbia
Owner
Private
The 2 ZIP codes it serves

97051, 97054

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit. The worst: Lead, above the action level. 3 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2013 to 2026.

Nitrate and arsenic: 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.

Fluoride, chromium (total) and uranium: EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from Nov. 1, 2012 to Dec. 12, 2013. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.

Above the legal limit1

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the action level

166ppb

90th percentile, 2024 to 2026

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 166 ppb, above EPA’s action level of 15 ppb. The action level drops to 10 ppb on Nov. 1, 2027, and this result is at or above that. EPA’s health goal for lead is zero.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits2

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.52ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2022

2022 average: 0.08 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.52 ppm, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2022, the latest year on file, it averaged 0.08 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 0.49 ppm, in 2017.

What handles it

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

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.14ppm

Highest yearly average, 2012

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.14 ppm, in 2012, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. That is the only year on file.

What handles it

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

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
Lead and Copper RuleA required study or plan for corrosion control was not done on time.EPA: OCCT/SOWT Study/RecommendationApril 1, 2025—Resolved
Lead and Copper RuleRequired information about lead was not given to customers.EPA: Public EducationDec. 11, 2024—Resolved
Lead and Copper Rule RevisionsThe required inventory of lead service lines was not completed or submitted on time.EPA: LSL InventoryOct. 17, 2024—Resolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 39 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Nitrate and arsenic results here are Oregon’s yearly averages as CDC publishes them, from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Fluoride, chromium (total) and uranium come from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Deer Island Heights WS’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 Nov. 1, 2012 to Dec. 12, 2013.

Testing your own tap

Deer Island Heights WS’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 Deer Island Heights WS serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • ALS Environmental, Kelso

    Kelso, WA · about 20 miles

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

    (360) 501-3362

  • BSK Associates ?Vancouver

    Vancouver, WA · about 24 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, minerals and other inorganics

    (360) 869-6344

  • OMIC USA Inc.

    Portland, OR · about 27 miles

    (503) 223-1497

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 OR4105114. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Columbia County

All Oregon utilities

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