Skip to content
TapBuff

Tel Company#1

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
210 people
Connections
83
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Freeland, WA
County
Island
Owner
Private
The ZIP code it serves

98260

The short answer

1 result is above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic, above the health goal. No health-based violations on file since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

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

Chromium (total) and fluoride: EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from Aug. 5, 2019 to Aug. 5, 2019. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.

Above the health goal1

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

7.1ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 5.0 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 7.1 ppb, in 2021: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. Its highest single sample was 12.7 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its six samples averaged 5.0 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 4.5 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”

Below EPA’s limits3

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.55ppm

Highest sample; found in 12 of 35

2026 average: 0.082 ppm

The highest sample, in 2022, was 0.55 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its six samples averaged 0.082 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 0.49 ppm, in 2019.

What handles it

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

Chromium (total)

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

2.0ppb

Highest yearly average, 2019

Averaged by year, the highest was 2.0 ppb, in 2019, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. Its highest single sample was 4.0 ppb. That is the only year on file.

What handles it

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.05ppm

Highest yearly average, 2019

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.05 ppm, in 2019, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. Its highest single sample was 0.1 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.
  • Lead
  • Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

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

    Claim: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction

    For: Arsenic

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

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claim: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction

    For: 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

Violations since 2016

No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Arsenic, nitrate and total trihalomethanes (TTHM) results here are Washington’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Chromium (total) and fluoride come from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Tel Company#1’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 Dec. 3, 2020 to Aug. 4, 2026; EPA’s compliance samples are from Aug. 5, 2019 to Aug. 5, 2019.

Testing your own tap

Tel Company#1’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 Tel Company#1 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 11 miles

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

    (425) 740-4597

  • Everett Environmental Laboratory

    Everett, WA · about 14 miles

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

    (425) 257-8230

  • Spectra Laboratories - Kitsap, LLC

    Poulsbo, WA · about 21 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, minerals and other inorganics

    (360) 779-5141

All 84 certified labs for Washington

Sources

PWSID WA5303099. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.