Is Prairie Heights, WA tap water safe?
The short answer
None of the 7 utilities serving Prairie Heights has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and Washington’s records.
City of Tacoma Water Division, which serves the most people here, has 1 result above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic at 0.56 ppb, above the health goal. Health goals are stricter than legal limits and are not enforced.
The water from City of Tacoma Water Division is soft to very hard depending on the source, 12 to 197 mg/L (0.7 to 11.5 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 Prairie Heights’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
City of Tacoma Water Division
Washington · serves 446,245 people · about 580 in Prairie Heights
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic at 0.56 ppb, above the health goal. Hardness: soft to very hard depending on the source, 12 to 197 mg/L (0.7 to 11.5 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Buckley Water
Washington · serves 7,842 people · about 550 in Prairie Heights
2 results above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 5.8 ppb, above the health goal. Hardness: moderately hard, typically 88 mg/L (5.1 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Marion Water Co Inc
Washington · serves 966 people · about 150 in Prairie Heights
2 results above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic at 4.1 ppb, above the health goal. Hardness: very hard, 258 mg/L (15.1 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
View Royal Water System
Washington · serves 2,069 people · under 100 in Prairie Heights
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic at 4.9 ppb, above the health goal. Hardness: moderately hard, 114 mg/L (6.7 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Sierra Water System
Washington · serves 355 people · under 100 in Prairie Heights
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 1.9 ppb, above the health goal. Hardness: moderately hard, 102 mg/L (6 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Burnett Water District
Washington · serves 109 people · under 100 in Prairie Heights
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 1.0 ppb, above the health goal. Hardness: moderately hard, 70 mg/L (4.1 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Town of South Prairie
Washington · serves 489 people · under 100 in Prairie Heights
2 results above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic at 6.2 ppb, above the health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
What handles it
Each of these is certified, on a certifier’s listing, for a result above a line in City of Tacoma Water Division’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.
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Countertop reverse osmosis
- IAPMO listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 58NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 4, 2026
Certified for: Arsenic
Aquasana SmartFlow Reverse Osmosis (AQ-SFRO2)
Under-sink reverse osmosis
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 58NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 9, 2026
Certified for: Arsenic
Brondell Capella RC250 Reverse Osmosis System
Under-sink reverse osmosis
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 58NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 9, 2026
Certified for: Arsenic
Water testing near Prairie Heights
The 3 labs Washington certifies closest to Prairie Heights, 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 16 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts, radioactivity
Aqua Test, Incorporated
Maple Valley, WA · about 19 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate
AmTest Laboratories
Renton, WA · about 23 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, disinfection byproducts
ZIP codes in Prairie Heights
Which ZIP codes are in Prairie Heights: 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 Prairie Heights
Other towns in Pierce County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read City of Tacoma Water Division’s full reportEvery result with its dates, the violations, and the certification claim that handles each finding.Open the report
- Filters for ArsenicRanked by certification and what they cost over five years.The best reverse osmosis systems, ranked
- On a private well?No utility tests a well. A certified lab test is the first step.How to test well water