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Briarwood Water System

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
44 people
Connections
20
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Freeland, WA
County
Island
Owner
Private
Hardness
Very hard
The ZIP code it serves

98277

The short answer

2 results are above EPA’s legal limit, and 2 more are above the health goal. The worst: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), above the legal limit. 3 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 1998 to 2025.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), arsenic, haloacetic acids (HAA5), nitrate, fluoride and chromium (total): Washington’s own results, samples taken from Aug. 13, 2020 to Aug. 19, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the legal limit2

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Above the legal limit

132ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 27.3 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 132 ppb, in 2023, above EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 27.3 ppb. EPA recorded a violation for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at this utility in 2024. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 73.2 ppb, in 2013.

What handles it

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

Copper

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the action level

1.8ppm

90th percentile, 2023 to 2025

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 1.8 ppm, above EPA’s action level of 1.3 ppm.

What handles it

Above the health goal2

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

7.2ppb

Highest yearly average, 2022 to 2025

2025, one sample: 2.5 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 7.2 ppb, in 2022: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. In 2025, the latest year on file, its one sample was 2.5 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 2.0 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

8.7ppb

90th percentile, 2020 to 2022

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 8.7 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 limits4

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

44.9ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 6.4 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 44.9 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 6.4 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 15.8 ppb, in 2013.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.36ppm

Highest sample; found in 2 of 8

2026: not found

The highest sample, in 2020, was 0.36 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 0.51 ppm, in 2019.

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

0.13ppm

Highest yearly average, 2025

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.13 ppm, in 2025, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. That is the only year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.11 ppm, in 2016.

What handles it

Chromium (total)

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

1.6ppb

Highest yearly average, 2025

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.6 ppb, in 2025, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. That is the only year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 1.0 ppb, in 2016.

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

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), Copper, Arsenic, Lead

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

  • NSF/ANSI 58

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

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), Copper, 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

Very hard, 287 mg/L (16.8 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 16.8 grains per gallon, salt includedSoftener or salt-free conditioner?Washington water hardness, utility by utility

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2024 to Dec. 31, 2024116 UG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2024 to Sept. 30, 2024124 UG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2024 to June 30, 2024132 UG/LArchived
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 8 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), arsenic, haloacetic acids (HAA5), nitrate, fluoride and chromium (total) results here are Washington’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Briarwood Water System’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; Washington’s results run from Aug. 13, 2020 to Aug. 19, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Briarwood Water System’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 Briarwood Water System serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Eurofins DW and WW West, Washington Laboratory

    Burlington, WA · about 18 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, minerals and other inorganics, disinfection byproducts

    (360) 757-1400

  • Precision Analytical Laboratories, LLC

    Everett, WA · about 29 miles

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

    (425) 740-4597

  • Everett Environmental Laboratory

    Everett, WA · about 31 miles

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

    (425) 257-8230

All 84 certified labs for Washington

Sources

PWSID WA5308324. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Island County

All Washington utilities

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