Skip to content
TapBuff
ZIP

Big Bend Landowners Association

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
419 people
Connections
222
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Monroe, WA
County
Snohomish
Owner
Private
Hardness
Varies by source
The ZIP code it serves

98251

The short answer

2 results are above the health goal. The worst: Lead, 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 2002 to 2024.

Arsenic and nitrate: Washington’s own results, samples taken from June 17, 2020 to March 5, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Chromium (total) and fluoride: EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from June 26, 2012 to July 17, 2018. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.

Above the health goal2

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

5.4ppb

90th percentile, 2022 to 2024

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 5.4 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

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

0.21ppb

Highest yearly average, 2022

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.21 ppb, in 2022: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. Its highest single sample was 0.28 ppb. That is the only year on file.

What handles it

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

Below EPA’s limits3

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

1.2ppm

Highest sample; found in 7 of 7

2026, one sample: 0.62 ppm

The highest sample, in 2024, was 1.2 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.62 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 1.1 ppm, in 2019.

What handles it

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

Chromium (total)

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

1.4ppb

Highest yearly average, 2012 to 2018

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.4 ppb, in 2018, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. That was also the latest year on file.

What handles it

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.04ppm

Highest yearly average, 2012 to 2018

2018, one sample: 0.03 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.04 ppm, in 2012, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2018, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.03 ppm.

What handles it

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

    For: Lead, Arsenic

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

  • NSF/ANSI 58

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

    For: Lead, Arsenic

    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 water filters for lead, ranked

The best reverse osmosis systems, ranked

Hardness

Soft to moderately hard depending on the source, 44 to 100 mg/L (2.5 to 5.8 grains per gallon), across 2 sampling points, in 2022.

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, 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 is 1 monitoring or reporting violation: a sample missed, late or not reported.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Arsenic and nitrate results here are Washington’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Chromium (total) and fluoride come from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Big Bend Landowners Association’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 June 17, 2020 to March 5, 2026; EPA’s compliance samples are from June 26, 2012 to July 17, 2018.

Testing your own tap

Big Bend Landowners Association’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 Big Bend Landowners Association serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Everett Environmental Laboratory

    Everett, WA · about 26 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics

    (425) 257-8230

  • Freshwater Analytical Labs, LLC

    Arlington, WA · about 27 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (360) 913-7542

  • OnSite Environmental, Inc.

    Redmond, WA · about 29 miles

    Certified for lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics

    (425) 883-3881

All 84 certified labs for Washington

Sources

PWSID WA5306630. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Snohomish County

All Washington utilities

What to do next