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Golden Valley Water Assn

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
138 people
Connections
55
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Quincy, WA
County
Grant
Owner
Private
The ZIP code it serves

98848

The short answer

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

What handles it

What was found

Nitrate: Washington’s own results, samples taken from March 25, 2020 to Aug. 11, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Arsenic, fluoride and chromium (total): EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from May 22, 2018 to May 22, 2018. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.

Above the legal limit1

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Above the legal limit

10.3ppm

Highest sample; found in 26 of 26

2026 average: 6.7 ppm

The highest sample, in 2021, was 10.3 ppm, which EPA rounds to 10 ppm to compare: at its legal limit of 10 ppm, not above it. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 6.7 ppm. EPA judges this limit at each sampling point, and recorded violations for nitrate at this utility in 2020 and 2021. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 10.9 ppm, in 2018, and EPA recorded violations in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

What handles it

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

Above the health goal1

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

2.3ppb

Highest yearly average, 2018

Averaged by year, the highest was 2.3 ppb, in 2018: 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

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.5ppm

Highest yearly average, 2018

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.5 ppm, in 2018, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. That is the only year on file.

What handles it

Chromium (total)

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.91ppb

Highest yearly average, 2018

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.91 ppb, in 2018, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. That is the only year on file.

What handles it

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

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: Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge), Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction

    For: Nitrate, Arsenic

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

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction, Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction

    For: Nitrate, Arsenic

    Other certifiers’ wording: Nitrate; 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

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The best reverse osmosis systems, ranked

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleJan. 1, 2021 to Dec. 31, 202110.3 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleJan. 1, 2020 to Dec. 31, 202010.2 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleJan. 1, 2020 to March 31, 202010.2 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleOct. 1, 2019 to Dec. 31, 201911.6 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleJan. 1, 2018 to Dec. 31, 201810.2 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleJan. 1, 2018 to Dec. 31, 201810.9 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleJan. 1, 2017 to Dec. 31, 201710.4 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleJan. 1, 2017 to Dec. 31, 201710.5 MG/LResolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 3 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. 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. Golden Valley Water Assn’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 March 25, 2020 to Aug. 11, 2026; EPA’s compliance samples are from May 22, 2018 to May 22, 2018.

Testing your own tap

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

  • Soiltest Farm Consultants, Inc. Laboratory

    Moses Lake, WA · about 25 miles

    Certified for nitrate, minerals and other inorganics

    (509) 765-1622

  • Anatek Labs, Inc - Wenatchee

    Wenatchee, WA · about 29 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (509) 701-8362

  • AV Labs, Inc

    Othello, WA · about 40 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (509) 488-2468

All 84 certified labs for Washington

Sources

PWSID WA5328400. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Grant County

All Washington utilities

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