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Agate West

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
100 people
Connections
40
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Freeland, WA
County
Kitsap
Owner
Private
Hardness
Soft
The ZIP code it serves

98370

The short answer

2 results are above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic, above the health goal. No health-based violations on file since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2004 to 2025.

Arsenic, nitrate and chromium (total): Washington’s own results, samples taken from Dec. 16, 2020 to June 29, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Fluoride: EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from Dec. 13, 2016 to Nov. 21, 2019. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.

Above the health goal2

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

5.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2022 to 2026

Averaged by year, the highest was 5.8 ppb, in 2026: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 5.5 ppb, in 2016.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

4.8ppb

90th percentile, 2023 to 2025

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 4.8 ppb, below EPA’s action level of 15 ppb. The action level drops to 10 ppb on Nov. 1, 2027. EPA’s health goal for lead is zero.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits2

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.19ppm

Highest sample; found in 2 of 14

2026 average: 0.15 ppm

The highest sample, in 2026, was 0.19 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. That was also the latest year on file, and its two samples averaged 0.15 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 0.36 ppm, in 2012.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.05ppm

Highest yearly average, 2016 to 2019

2019: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.05 ppm, in 2016, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. Its highest single sample was 0.1 ppm. In 2019, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample.

What handles it

One compound tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Chromium (total)

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

    Claims: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: Arsenic, Lead

    Other certifiers’ wording: Arsenic (III) (50 ppb influent level)

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: Arsenic, Lead

    Other certifiers’ wording: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=300 ppb Reduction; Arsenic (V) (300 ppb influent level)

At the tap, or for the whole house?

Lead and copper usually come from pipes and fixtures inside or near your home. A whole-house system sits where water enters, so it cannot catch what your own plumbing adds after it. For those, the filter that counts is the one at the tap. 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

The best reverse osmosis systems, ranked

The best water filters for lead, ranked

Hardness

Soft, 30 mg/L (1.8 grains per gallon), at its one sampling point, in 2025.

Hardness is calcium and magnesium. EPA sets no limit for it: it shows up as scale on fixtures and in water heaters, and as soap that won’t lather. USGS calls water above 60 mg/L moderately hard, above 120 hard and above 180 very hard.

Softeners compared at 1.8 grains per gallon, salt includedSoftener or salt-free conditioner?Washington water hardness, utility by utility

Violations since 2016

No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016. There are 2 monitoring or reporting violations: a sample missed, late or not reported.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Arsenic, nitrate and chromium (total) results here are Washington’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Fluoride comes from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Agate West’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 Dec. 16, 2020 to June 29, 2026; EPA’s compliance samples are from Dec. 13, 2016 to Nov. 21, 2019.

Testing your own tap

Agate West’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 Washington certifies.

The 3 labs Washington certifies closest to the area Agate West serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Spectra Laboratories - Kitsap, LLC

    Poulsbo, WA · under a mile

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, minerals and other inorganics

    (360) 779-5141

  • Eurofins EPK Built Environment Testing, LLC

    Seattle, WA · about 12 miles

    Certified for bacteria, asbestos

    (206) 781-0155

  • Alliance Technical Group, LLC-Seattle

    Seattle, WA · about 14 miles

    Certified for bacteria, lead and copper, metals

    (206) 352-3790

All 84 certified labs for Washington

Sources

PWSID WA5300515. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Kitsap County

All Washington utilities

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