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E.L.C. 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
36 people
Connections
33
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Eastsound, WA
County
San Juan
Owner
Private
Hardness
Moderately hard
The ZIP code it serves

98279

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit, and 1 more is above the health goal. The worst: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), above the legal limit. 8 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2020 to 2023.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride, chromium (total), arsenic and nitrate: Washington’s own results, samples taken from Sept. 1, 2020 to Sept. 9, 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

103ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026, one sample: 8.8 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 103 ppb, in 2021, above EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 186 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 8.8 ppb. EPA recorded violations for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at this utility in 2021, 2022 and 2024.

What handles it

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

Above the health goal1

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

10.3ppb

90th percentile, 2021 to 2023

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 10.3 ppb, below EPA’s action level of 15 ppb. The action level drops to 10 ppb on Nov. 1, 2027, and this result is at or above that. EPA’s health goal for lead is zero.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits3

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

24.9ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026, one sample: 9.0 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 24.9 ppb, in 2024, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 49.5 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 9.0 ppb.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.36ppm

Highest yearly average, 2021 to 2022

2022 average: 0.22 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.36 ppm, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2022, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 0.22 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.33 ppm, in 2012.

What handles it

Chromium (total)

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

1.6ppb

Highest yearly average, 2021 to 2022

2022: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.6 ppb, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. In 2022, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in any of its two samples.

What handles it

2 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Arsenic
  • Nitrate

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, Lead Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), Lead

    Other certifiers’ wording: VOC Reduction

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), Lead

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

Hardness

Moderately hard, typically 82 mg/L (4.8 grains per gallon), across 2 sampling points, 2021 to 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 4.8 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, AverageApril 1, 2024 to June 30, 202490 UG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2022 to Dec. 31, 202293.7 UG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2022 to Sept. 30, 202298.3 UG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2022 to June 30, 2022110 UG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2022 to March 31, 2022108 UG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2021 to Dec. 31, 2021103 UG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2021 to Sept. 30, 2021103 UG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2021 to March 31, 202184.6 UG/LResolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 16 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride, chromium (total), arsenic and nitrate results here are Washington’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. E.L.C. 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 Sept. 1, 2020 to Sept. 9, 2026.

Testing your own tap

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

  • Exact Scientific Services, Inc.

    Ferndale, WA · about 18 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts

    (360) 733-1205

  • Eurofins DW and WW West, Washington Laboratory

    Burlington, WA · about 24 miles

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

    (360) 757-1400

  • Freshwater Analytical Labs, LLC

    Arlington, WA · about 49 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (360) 913-7542

All 84 certified labs for Washington

Sources

PWSID WA5302051. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in San Juan County

All Washington utilities

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