Adams County Water Dist #1
What EPA’s and Washington’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
- 870 people
- Connections
- 299
- Water source
- Groundwater bought from another system
- Based in
- Othello, WA
- County
- Adams
- Owner
- Local government
The ZIP code it serves
The short answer
Nothing in EPA’s and Washington’s records for this utility is above a health goal. That covers nitrate, arsenic and other regulated chemicals, plus lead and copper, not everything. No health-based violations on file since 2016.
What was found
Nitrate: Washington’s own results, samples taken from March 10, 2025 to March 10, 2025.
Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and haloacetic acids (HAA5): EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from Aug. 20, 2015 to Aug. 13, 2018. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.
Below EPA’s limits3
Nitrate
Comes from the source
4.7ppm
One sample
2025, one sample: 4.7 ppm
The highest sample, in 2025, was 4.7 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. That is the only year on file, and its one sample was 4.7 ppm.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”
Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)
Forms or is added in treatment
4.6ppb
Highest yearly average, 2015 to 2018
2018, one sample: 0.7 ppb
Averaged by year, the highest was 4.6 ppb, in 2015, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2018, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.7 ppb.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
Forms or is added in treatment
1.4ppb
Highest yearly average, 2015 to 2018
2018: not found
Averaged by year, the highest was 1.4 ppb, in 2015, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2018, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample.
What handles it
No certification claim covers this compound yet.
One compound tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
- Lead
Violations since 2016
No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016. There is 1 monitoring or reporting violation: a sample missed, late or not reported.
What this report can’t tell you
Everything else. Nitrate results here are Washington’s own from 2025 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and haloacetic acids (HAA5) come from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Adams County Water Dist #1’s own annual report, which it must send you every year, has newer results for those and 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; Washington’s results run from March 10, 2025 to March 10, 2025; EPA’s compliance samples are from Aug. 20, 2015 to Aug. 13, 2018.
Testing your own tap
The 3 labs Washington certifies closest to the area Adams County Water Dist #1 serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
AV Labs, Inc
Othello, WA · under a mile
Certified for bacteria
Soiltest Farm Consultants, Inc. Laboratory
Moses Lake, WA · about 24 miles
Certified for nitrate, minerals and other inorganics
Ag Health Laboratories, Inc.
Sunnyside, WA · about 31 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate
Sources
- EPA UCMR 5 occurrence data, file of Oct. 15, 2026
- EPA SDWA bulk download (SDWIS federal data), 2026 Q3
- Washington State Department of Health, Office of Drinking Water, results from Jan. 1, 2020 to Sept. 29, 2026, read Oct. 8, 2026
- EPA Six-Year Review 4 compliance monitoring data, 2012 to 2019, file of Feb. 5, 2024
- Certified labs: Washington State Department of Ecology, Lab Accreditation Program, environmental laboratories accredited for drinking water analyses, read Oct. 10, 2026; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer
- Limits and goals: each contaminant’s page, with its EPA source.
- How this page is built: methodology.
PWSID WA5322525. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.
What to do next
- Nothing here is above a health goalIn EPA’s and Washington’s records for this utility. They don’t cover everything, which is why the next step matters.Every contaminant TapBuff tracks
- Get the utility’s own reportAdams County Water Dist #1 must send you a water quality report every year. It covers contaminants this page does not show, and has newer results than EPA’s national file for the ones here that come from it.How to read it
- Test your own tap for leadYour service line, solder and fixtures decide the lead at your faucet, not the utility’s average.Lead in your water: what to do
- Decide if you want a filter at allA filter for taste or chlorine is a preference, not a need. The standards say what each kind can do.NSF/ANSI standards, decoded