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Is Prineville, OR tap water safe?

15 utilities serve Prineville, 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

5 of the 15 utilities serving Prineville have a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and CDC’s records: High Desert Estates, Barnes Butte HOA, McDougal Water System and 2 more.

City of Prineville, which serves the most people here, has 3 results above the health goal and 1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: Lithium at 20.8 ppb, above EPA’s health benchmark. 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 Prineville’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.

5 more utilities in Prineville

By EPA’s estimate, each serves fewer people in Prineville 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 Prineville’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 Prineville

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

  • Box R Water Analysis Laboratory, L.L.C.

    Prineville, OR · about 11 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate

    (412) 603-1990

  • Britebox Labs, Inc

    Bend, OR · about 21 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate

    (541) 299-2008

  • City of Bend Water Quality Laboratory

    Bend, OR · about 21 miles

    Certified for bacteria, lead and copper, metals

    (541) 693-2112

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 Prineville

Which ZIP codes are in Prineville: 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 Prineville

Towns nearby with a page of their own.

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