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Is Pine Ridge, SD tap water safe?

2 utilities serve Pine Ridge, by EPA’s records. Here is what EPA’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 2 utilities serving Pine Ridge have a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s records: Pine Ridge Water System and Oglala RWS Pipeline.

Pine Ridge Water System, which serves the most people here, has 1 result above the legal limit, 1 result above the health goal and 1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: Uranium at 30.9 ppb, above the legal limit.

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 Pine Ridge’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 Pine Ridge 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 Pine Ridge

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 South Dakota certifies.

No lab South Dakota certifies is within 75 miles of Pine Ridge on the state’s list. Some take samples by mail; the state’s page lists them all.

South Dakota Public Health Laboratory: Sample bottles for testing a private well for bacteria and nitrate, lead, or a new-well panel, ordered online from the lab or picked up at a County Extension office. Instructions and fees come with the bottles. Test a Private Well, South Dakota Department of Health.

All 16 certified labs for South Dakota

ZIP codes in Pine Ridge

Which ZIP codes are in Pine Ridge: 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.

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