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Is Independence, OR tap water safe?

3 utilities serve Independence, 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

2 of the 3 utilities serving Independence have a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and CDC’s records: Independence Water System and Rickreall Water Association.

Independence Water System, which serves the most people here, has 1 result above the action level and 1 result above the health goal. The worst: Copper at 1.4 ppm, above the action level.

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 Independence’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 Independence Water System’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 Independence

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 Independence, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Waterlab Corp.

    Salem, OR · about 7 miles

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

    (503) 363-0473

  • U.S. Region 9 Lab - Corvallis, OR

    Corvallis, OR · about 11 miles

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

    (541) 754-4571

  • Eurofins Corvallis

    Corvallis, OR · about 13 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate

    (360) 757-1400

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 Independence

Which ZIP codes are in Independence: 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 Independence

Other towns in Polk County with a page of their own.

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