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Is Pendleton, OR tap water safe?

8 utilities serve Pendleton, 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 8 utilities serving Pendleton have a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and CDC’s records: Stewarts Addition and Desire for Healing, Inc.

City of Pendleton, which serves the most people here, has 3 results above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 3.0 ppb, above the health goal. 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 Pendleton’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 Pendleton’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 Pendleton

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

  • Pendleton Wastewater Treatment Plant

    Pendleton, OR · under a mile

    Certified for bacteria

    (541) 276-3372

  • Umpqua Research Company - Table Rock

    Pendleton, OR · under a mile

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate

    (541) 863-7335

  • Matrix Sciences dba KTL

    Pasco, WA · about 49 miles

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

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 Pendleton

Which ZIP codes are in Pendleton: 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.