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Town of Darrington

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
2,246 people
Connections
649
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Darrington, WA
County
Snohomish
Owner
Local government
Hardness
Varies by source
The ZIP code it serves

98241

The short answer

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

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2005 to 2025.

Nitrate, chromium (total), arsenic and fluoride: Washington’s own results, samples taken from March 13, 2020 to April 13, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the health goal1

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

1.5ppb

90th percentile, 2023 to 2025

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 1.5 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 limits2

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.34ppm

Highest sample; found in 14 of 14

2026 average: 0.27 ppm

The highest sample, in 2022, was 0.34 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 0.27 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 0.46 ppm, in 2017.

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

0.55ppb

Highest yearly average, 2022

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.55 ppb, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. Its highest single sample was 1.1 ppb. 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.
  • Arsenic
  • 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.”

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 water filters for lead, ranked

Hardness

Soft to moderately hard depending on the source, 54 to 68 mg/L (3.1 to 4 grains per gallon), across 2 sampling points, in 2022.

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, salt includedSoftener or salt-free conditioner?Washington water hardness, utility by utility

Violations since 2016

No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016. There are 2 monitoring or reporting violations: a sample missed, late or not reported.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Nitrate, chromium (total), arsenic and fluoride results here are Washington’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Town of Darrington’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 March 13, 2020 to April 13, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Town of Darrington’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 Town of Darrington serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Freshwater Analytical Labs, LLC

    Arlington, WA · about 37 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (360) 913-7542

  • Everett Environmental Laboratory

    Everett, WA · about 49 miles

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

    (425) 257-8230

  • Precision Analytical Laboratories, LLC

    Everett, WA · about 51 miles

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

    (425) 740-4597

All 84 certified labs for Washington

Sources

PWSID WA5317950. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Snohomish County

All Washington utilities

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