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Salkum Water Supply

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
103 people
Connections
42
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Salkum, WA
County
Lewis
Owner
Private
Hardness
Moderately hard
The ZIP code it serves

98582

The short answer

2 results are above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic, above the health goal. 1 health-based violation since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2003 to 2025.

Arsenic, nitrate, chromium (total) and fluoride: Washington’s own results, samples taken from May 28, 2020 to July 9, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the health goal2

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

1.1ppb

Highest yearly average, 2023 to 2026

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.1 ppb, in 2026: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. That was also the latest 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”

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

0.6ppb

90th percentile, 2025

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 0.6 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 limits1

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.97ppm

Highest sample; found in 11 of 11

2026, one sample: 0.74 ppm

The highest sample, in 2025, was 0.97 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.74 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 0.9 ppm, in 2015.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”
2 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Chromium (total)
  • Fluoride

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

    For: Arsenic, Lead

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

  • NSF/ANSI 58

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

    For: 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

Moderately hard, typically 92 mg/L (5.4 grains per gallon), across 2 sampling points, 2023 to 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 5.4 grains per gallon, salt includedSoftener or salt-free conditioner?Washington water hardness, utility by utility

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
Lead and Copper RuleA required study or plan for corrosion control was not done on time.EPA: OCCT/SOWT Study/RecommendationMarch 31, 2022—Resolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 319 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Arsenic, nitrate, chromium (total) and fluoride results here are Washington’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Salkum Water Supply’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 May 28, 2020 to July 9, 2026.

Testing your own tap

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

  • Lewis County Environmental Health Laboratory

    Chehalis, WA · about 21 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate

    (360) 740-1237

  • ALS Environmental - Kelso

    Kelso, WA · about 25 miles

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

    (360) 577-7222

  • Thurston County Health Department Laboratory

    Olympia, WA · about 42 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate

    (360) 867-2631

All 84 certified labs for Washington

Sources

PWSID WA5375550. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Lewis County

All Washington utilities

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