Skip to content
TapBuff
ZIP

Ferndale Estates LLC

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
85 people
Connections
54
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Ferndale, WA
County
Whatcom
Owner
Private
Hardness
Moderately hard
The ZIP code it serves

98248

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. 2 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5) and nitrate: Washington’s own results, samples taken from Aug. 3, 2020 to Aug. 4, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Arsenic, fluoride and chromium (total): EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from July 5, 2017 to July 5, 2017. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.

Above the legal limit1

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Above the legal limit

88.4ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 29.2 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 88.4 ppb, in 2022, above EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 111 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 29.2 ppb. EPA recorded a violation for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at this utility in 2023. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 78.6 ppb, in 2019.

What handles it

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

Above the health goal1

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

4.0ppb

Highest yearly average, 2017

Averaged by year, the highest was 4.0 ppb, in 2017: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. 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 limits2

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

33.7ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 7.8 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 33.7 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 87.2 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 7.8 ppb. EPA recorded no violation for haloacetic acids (HAA5) at this utility since 2020. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 11.3 ppb, in 2019.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.22ppm

Highest yearly average, 2017

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.22 ppm, in 2017, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. That is the only year on file.

What handles it

3 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Chromium (total)
  • Lead
  • 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, Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), Arsenic

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

  • NSF/ANSI 58

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

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), Arsenic

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

At the tap, or for the whole house?

These come with the water itself, so a whole-house system certified for the same claims treats every tap and shower. A filter at the tap treats drinking water for much less. 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

Hardness

Moderately hard, 112 mg/L (6.5 grains per gallon), at its one sampling point, in 2026.

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 6.5 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, AverageJuly 1, 2023 to Sept. 30, 202399.5 UG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2023 to June 30, 202388.3 UG/LArchived
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 6 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5) and nitrate results here are Washington’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Arsenic, fluoride and chromium (total) come from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Ferndale Estates LLC’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 Aug. 3, 2020 to Aug. 4, 2026; EPA’s compliance samples are from July 5, 2017 to July 5, 2017.

Testing your own tap

Ferndale Estates LLC’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 Ferndale Estates LLC 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 · under a mile

    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 28 miles

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

    (360) 757-1400

  • Freshwater Analytical Labs, LLC

    Arlington, WA · about 54 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (360) 913-7542

All 84 certified labs for Washington

Sources

PWSID WA5324840. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Whatcom County

All Washington utilities

What to do next