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Is McChord AFB, WA tap water safe?

3 utilities serve McChord AFB, by EPA’s records. Here is what EPA’s and Washington’s records show for each, against the legal limits and the stricter health goals.

Matched to your utility using EPA records.

The short answer

None of the 3 utilities serving McChord AFB has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and Washington’s records.

Jblm Lewis, which serves the most people here, has 2 results above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029. The worst: PFOS at 11.1 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029.

The water from Jblm Lewis is soft, typically 50 mg/L (2.9 grains per gallon). How Washington’s water compares.

A town can be served by more than one utility, and some homes are on private wells. The name on your water bill tells you which is yours, and your ZIP code narrows it down. They are listed by how many people each serves in McChord AFB’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.

What handles it

Each of these is certified, on a certifier’s listing, for a result above a line in Jblm Lewis’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.

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Every claim, and more filters, in the full report

Water testing near McChord AFB

A utility tests the water it sends out. A test of your own tap shows what your pipes add, and on a private well it is the only test there is. It takes a lab Washington certifies.

The 3 labs Washington certifies closest to McChord AFB, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Water Management Laboratories, Inc.

    Tacoma, WA · about 7 miles

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

    (253) 531-3121

  • Thurston County Health Department Laboratory

    Olympia, WA · about 17 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate

    (360) 867-2631

  • Olympic Analytical LLC dba Vanguard Laboratory

    Olympia, WA · about 25 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate

    (360) 967-7010

All 84 certified labs for Washington

ZIP codes in McChord AFB

Which ZIP codes are in McChord AFB: Census 2020 relationship files. Which utilities serve them, and how many people: EPA SDWIS and EPA’s service area map. Each utility’s results: EPA UCMR 5, EPA SDWIS, and EPA’s and the state’s compliance monitoring, as its report lists them. How they are measured: methodology. Certified labs: Washington State Department of Ecology, Lab Accreditation Program, environmental laboratories accredited for drinking water analyses; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer.

Near McChord AFB

Other towns in Pierce County with a page of their own.

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