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Cochrane Waterworks

What EPA’s and Wisconsin’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
450 people
Connections
166
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Cochrane, WI
County
Buffalo
Owner
Local government
Hardness
Very hard
The ZIP code it serves

54622

The short answer

1 result is above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic, above the health goal. 1 health-based violation since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Arsenic, haloacetic acids (HAA5), nitrate, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), fluoride and chromium (total): Wisconsin’s own results, samples taken from May 12, 2020 to April 28, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the health goal1

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

1.0ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.0 ppb, in 2023: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. In 2026, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample.

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 limits4

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

8.3ppb

Highest yearly average, 2021

Averaged by year, the highest was 8.3 ppb, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. That is the only year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 17.4 ppb, in 2018.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

1.3ppm

Highest sample; found in 4 of 4

2023, one sample: 0.74 ppm

The highest sample, in 2022, was 1.3 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2023, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.74 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 1.3 ppm, in 2012.

What handles it

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

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

2.7ppb

Highest yearly average, 2021

Averaged by year, the highest was 2.7 ppb, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. That is the only year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 7.2 ppb, in 2015.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.13ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.13 ppm, in 2026, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.15 ppm, in 2014.

What handles it

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

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

Hardness

Very hard, 338 mg/L (19.7 grains per gallon), at its one sampling point, 2017 to 2026.

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 19.7 grains per gallon, salt includedSoftener or salt-free conditioner?Wisconsin water hardness, utility by utility

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
Stage 1 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts RuleTreatment was not run by a certified operator as required.EPA: Treatment Technique No Certif. OperatorNov. 2, 2024—Resolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 4 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Arsenic, haloacetic acids (HAA5), nitrate, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), fluoride and chromium (total) results here are Wisconsin’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Cochrane Waterworks’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; Wisconsin’s results run from May 12, 2020 to April 28, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Cochrane Waterworks’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 Wisconsin certifies.

The 3 labs Wisconsin certifies closest to the area Cochrane Waterworks serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Buffalo County Department of Health and Human Services

    Alma, WI · about 7 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (608) 685-4412

  • Dunn County Health Department

    Menomonie, WI · about 41 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate

    (715) 232-2388

  • Menomonie Waste Water

    Menomonie, WI · about 41 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (715) 232-2175

Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene: Well water test kits ordered by phone and shipped free; you pay to mail the sample back, and the lab bills you after testing. Tests run from bacteria alone to a homeowner package covering bacteria, nitrate, fluoride, metals, hardness, volatile organic compounds and atrazine. Bacteria is $35, nitrate $35, lead $38, and the homeowner package $450, as of July 1, 2026. Public Environmental and Water Testing Prices, Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene.

All 156 certified labs for Wisconsin

Sources

PWSID WI6060226. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Nearby

All Wisconsin utilities

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