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Eagle River 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
1,530 people
Connections
1,016
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Eagle River, WI
County
Vilas
Owner
Local government
Hardness
Varies by source
The ZIP code it serves

54521

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, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride, chromium (total) and nitrate: Wisconsin’s own results, samples taken from Jan. 8, 2020 to Sept. 1, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the health goal1

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

6.0ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 4.8 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 6.0 ppb, in 2020: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. Its highest single sample was 7.1 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 4.8 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 5.3 ppb, in 2014.

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 limits5

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

56.7ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 20.8 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 56.7 ppb, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 79.2 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 20.8 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 41.1 ppb, in 2015.

What handles it

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

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

22.4ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 9.8 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 22.4 ppb, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 24.5 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 9.8 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 10.8 ppb, in 2014.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.8ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 0.69 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.8 ppm, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. Its highest single sample was 0.94 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its 20 samples averaged 0.69 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.41 ppm, in 2017.

What handles it

Chromium (total)

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

1.5ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.5 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. Its highest single sample was 3.0 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in any of its two samples. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 3.5 ppb, in 2017.

What handles it

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.072ppm

Highest sample; found in 1 of 2

2021 average: 0.036 ppm

The highest sample, in 2021, was 0.072 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. That is the only year on file, and its two samples averaged 0.036 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 0.16 ppm, in 2015.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”
One compound tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • 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

Moderately hard to hard depending on the source, 120 to 125 mg/L (7 to 7.3 grains per gallon), across 2 sampling points, 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, salt includedSoftener or salt-free conditioner?Wisconsin water hardness, utility by utility

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
Lead and Copper Rule RevisionsThe required inventory of lead service lines was not completed or submitted on time.EPA: LSL InventoryOct. 17, 2024—Resolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 2 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Arsenic, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride, chromium (total) and nitrate results here are Wisconsin’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Eagle River 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 Jan. 8, 2020 to Sept. 1, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Eagle River 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 Eagle River Waterworks serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Eagle River Health Department Laboratory

    Eagle River, WI · under a mile

    Certified for bacteria

    (715) 479-3656

  • Oneida County Health Department

    Rhinelander, WI · about 19 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (715) 369-6111

  • Northern Lake Service Inc. - Waukesha

    Waukesha, WI · about 33 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, minerals and other inorganics

    (715) 478-2777

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 WI7640113. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Vilas County

All Wisconsin utilities

What to do next