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Scatchet Head Water District

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
900 people
Connections
415
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Coupeville, WA
County
Island
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

98236

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit, and 2 more are above the health goal. The worst: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), above the legal limit. 1 health-based violation since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2006 to 2023.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), arsenic, haloacetic acids (HAA5) and nitrate: Washington’s own results, samples taken from Feb. 19, 2020 to Sept. 16, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Fluoride and chromium (total): EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from Aug. 26, 2019 to Aug. 26, 2019. 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

79ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026, one sample: 18.5 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 79 ppb, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 96.2 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 18.5 ppb. EPA judges this limit at each sampling point, and recorded a violation for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at this utility in 2021. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 78.2 ppb, in 2018.

What handles it

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

Above the health goal2

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

9.0ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026, one sample: 7.7 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 9.0 ppb, in 2021: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. Its highest single sample was 10.3 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 7.7 ppb. EPA recorded no violation for arsenic at this utility since 2020. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 9.0 ppb, in 2019.

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

1.1ppb

90th percentile, 2021 to 2023

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 1.1 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 limits2

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

42.5ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026, one sample: 14.7 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 42.5 ppb, in 2025, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 57 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 14.7 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 33.6 ppb, in 2013.

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, 2019

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.22 ppm, in 2019, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. That is the only year on file.

What handles it

2 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Chromium (total)
  • 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, Lead Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), Arsenic, Lead

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

  • NSF/ANSI 58

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

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), 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

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2021 to Sept. 30, 202183.1 UG/LResolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 11 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), arsenic, haloacetic acids (HAA5) and nitrate results here are Washington’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Fluoride and chromium (total) come from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Scatchet Head Water District’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 Feb. 19, 2020 to Sept. 16, 2026; EPA’s compliance samples are from Aug. 26, 2019 to Aug. 26, 2019.

Testing your own tap

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

  • Precision Analytical Laboratories, LLC

    Everett, WA · about 10 miles

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

    (425) 740-4597

  • Everett Environmental Laboratory

    Everett, WA · about 12 miles

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

    (425) 257-8230

  • Spectra Laboratories - Kitsap, LLC

    Poulsbo, WA · about 17 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, minerals and other inorganics

    (360) 779-5141

All 84 certified labs for Washington

Sources

PWSID WA5376470. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Island County

All Washington utilities

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