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Bright Star Salem SUD 2

What EPA’s and Texas’s records show in this utility’s water: nitrate, arsenic and other regulated chemicals; lead and copper; and violations since 2016, with the certification that handles each result.

Serves
378 people
Connections
126
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Alba, TX
County
Rains
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

75440

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit. The worst: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), above the legal limit. 1 health-based violation since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride, chromium (total), nitrate, arsenic and uranium: Texas’s own results, samples taken from March 17, 2020 to Sept. 14, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the legal limit1

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Above the legal limit

75.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 50.1 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 75.8 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 92.8 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 50.1 ppb. EPA judges this limit at each sampling point, and recorded a violation for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at this utility in 2023. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 78.7 ppb, in 2018.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”

Below EPA’s limits4

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

24.6ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

Averaged by year, the highest was 24.6 ppb, in 2026, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 27 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 27.1 ppb, in 2018.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.31ppm

Highest yearly average, 2021 to 2024

2024, one sample: 0.3 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.31 ppm, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2024, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.3 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.42 ppm, in 2012.

What handles it

Chromium (total)

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

1.4ppb

Highest yearly average, 2021 to 2024

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.4 ppb, in 2024, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. That was also the latest year on file.

What handles it

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.054ppm

Highest sample; found in 6 of 6

2025, one sample: 0.043 ppm

The highest sample, in 2020, was 0.054 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2025, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.043 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 0.06 ppm, in 2016.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”
3 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Arsenic
  • Lead
  • Uranium

What handles it

A certification covers specific claims, not a whole standard. Look for these claims on the certifier’s listing, not the box. Wording varies a little: NSF writes “Lead Reduction,” WQA just “Lead.”

  • NSF/ANSI 53

    Claim: Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

    Other certifiers’ wording: VOC Reduction

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claim: Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

At the tap, or for the whole house?

These come with the water itself, so a whole-house system certified for the same claims treats every tap and shower. A filter at the tap treats drinking water for much less. How whole-house systems compare.

Filters with those claims on a certifier’s listing

Disclosure: TapBuff earns a commission if you buy through some links on this page. It does not change which standard or filter we name. As an Amazon Associate, TapBuff earns from qualifying purchases. How TapBuff makes money

Compare five-year costs

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2023 to Sept. 30, 20230.081 MG/LResolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 7 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride, chromium (total), nitrate, arsenic and uranium results here are Texas’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Bright Star Salem SUD 2’s own annual report, which it must send you every year, has the contaminants this page does not show.

  • Your own plumbing. Lead results are the 90th percentile across homes the utility samples. Your home’s service line, solder and fixtures decide yours. A certified lab test is the only way to know.

  • What it means for your health. This page reports what the records show and EPA’s limits and goals; it is not medical advice. If you are worried about a health effect, talk to a doctor or your local health department.

  • Anything after the latest data. SDWIS data is from 2026 Q3; UCMR 5 didn’t sample this utility; Texas’s results run from March 17, 2020 to Sept. 14, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Bright Star Salem SUD 2’s results are for the water it sends out. What your own service line, solder and fixtures add shows up only in a test of your tap, by a lab Texas certifies.

The 3 labs Texas certifies closest to the area Bright Star Salem SUD 2 serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Northeast Texas Public Health District Laboratory

    Tyler, TX · about 44 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (903) 535-0090

  • Environmental Monitoring Lab

    Winona, TX · about 47 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (903) 877-9222

  • Analytical Environmental Labs

    Tyler, TX · about 51 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (903) 509-8700

Texas Well Owner Network, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension: Well Informed screening events, where well owners bring in water samples to be screened for common contaminants, followed by an hour-long session explaining the results. Upcoming events are on the network's calendar. Trainings, Texas Well Owner Network.

All 80 certified labs for Texas

Sources

PWSID TX1900015. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Rains County

All Texas utilities

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