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Is Bend, OR tap water safe?

15 utilities serve Bend, by EPA’s records. Here is what EPA’s and CDC’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 15 utilities serving Bend has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and CDC’s records: Cimmarron City Water System.

City of Bend, which serves the most people here, has 1 result above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029 and 1 result above the health goal. The worst: PFOA at 7.9 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029.

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 Bend’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.

5 more utilities in Bend

By EPA’s estimate, each serves fewer people in Bend than those above.

What handles it

Each of these is certified, on a certifier’s listing, for a result above a line in City of Bend’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 Bend

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 Oregon certifies.

The 3 labs Oregon certifies closest to Bend, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Eurofins Bend

    Bend, OR · under a mile

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate

    (360) 757-1400

  • Umpqua Research Company (Bend)

    Bend, OR · about 4 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate

    (541) 863-7335

  • Britebox Labs, Inc

    Bend, OR · about 4 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate

    (541) 299-2008

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

ZIP codes in Bend

Which ZIP codes are in Bend: 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. Certified labs: Oregon Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program, drinking water labs, as listed in TNI LAMS; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer.

Near Bend

Towns nearby with a page of their own.

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