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Teen Challenge

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
61 people
Connections
2
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Spokane, WA
County
Spokane
Owner
Private
Hardness
Very hard

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit, and 2 more are above the health goal. The worst: Nitrate, above the legal limit. 3 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2024.

Nitrate, uranium, fluoride, arsenic and chromium (total): Washington’s own results, samples taken from Jan. 30, 2020 to Aug. 7, 2026.

Above the legal limit1

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Above the legal limit

33.3ppm

Highest sample; found in 20 of 20

2026 average: 6.0 ppm

From 2020 to 2025, three samples were above EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm, the highest 33.3 ppm in 2025. The next sample at the same point, within 30 days, kept the average above the limit for one; two have no follow-up sample on file within 30 days. In 2026, the latest year on file, its eight samples averaged 6.0 ppm. EPA recorded a violation for nitrate at this utility in 2024.

What handles it

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

Above the health goal2

Uranium

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

10.3ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023

Averaged by year, the highest was 10.3 ppb, in 2023: below EPA’s legal limit of 30 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. That was also the latest year on file.

What handles it

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

3.5ppb

90th percentile, 2024

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 3.5 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

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.19ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2025

2025, one sample: 0.18 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.19 ppm, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2025, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.18 ppm.

What handles it

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

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), Lead Reduction

    For: Nitrate, Lead

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction, Uranium, Lead Reduction

    For: Nitrate, Uranium, Lead

    Other certifiers’ wording: Nitrate

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

Very hard, 334 mg/L (19.5 grains per gallon), at its one sampling point, 2020 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 19.5 grains per gallon, salt includedSoftener or salt-free conditioner?Washington water hardness, utility by utility

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, 2024 to Dec. 31, 202428.9 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, 2024 to Dec. 31, 202431.1 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, 2024 to Dec. 31, 202430.4 MG/LResolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 1 monitoring or reporting violation not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Nitrate, uranium, fluoride, arsenic and chromium (total) results here are Washington’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Teen Challenge’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 Jan. 30, 2020 to Aug. 7, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Teen Challenge’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.

No lab Washington certifies is within 75 miles of the area Teen Challenge serves on the state’s list. Some take samples by mail; the state’s page lists them all.

All 84 certified labs for Washington

Sources

PWSID WA5301819. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Spokane County

All Washington utilities

What to do next