Ironton 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
- 253 people
- Connections
- 93
- Water source
- Groundwater
- Based in
- La Valle, WI
- County
- Sauk
- Owner
- Local government
- Hardness
- Hard
The ZIP code it serves
The short answer
2 results are above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic, above the health goal. 2 health-based violations since 2016.
What handles itWhat was found
Arsenic, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride and chromium (total): Wisconsin’s own results, samples taken from Sept. 27, 2020 to April 16, 2025, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.
Uranium: EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from Aug. 1, 2017 to Aug. 1, 2017. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.
Above the health goal2
Arsenic
Comes from the source
0.7ppb
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023
2023: not found
Averaged by year, the highest was 0.7 ppb, in 2020: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. In 2023, 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”
Uranium
Comes from the source
0.09ppb
Highest yearly average, 2017
Averaged by year, the highest was 0.09 ppb, in 2017: below EPA’s legal limit of 30 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. That is the only year on file.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Uranium”
Below EPA’s limits4
Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)
Forms or is added in treatment
10.9ppb
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023
Averaged by year, the highest was 10.9 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 5.7 ppb, in 2017.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
Nitrate
Comes from the source
1.1ppm
Highest sample; found in 6 of 6
2025, one sample: 0.94 ppm
The highest sample, in 2020, was 1.1 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2025, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.94 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 1.4 ppm, in 2012.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”
Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
Forms or is added in treatment
1.4ppb
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023
2023: not found
Averaged by year, the highest was 1.4 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2023, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.4 ppb, in 2014.
What handles it
No certification claim covers this compound yet.
Fluoride
Forms or is added in treatment
0.08ppm
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023
2023, one sample: 0.04 ppm
Averaged by year, the highest was 0.08 ppm, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2023, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.04 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.09 ppm, in 2017.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Fluoride Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Fluoride”
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
Claims: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction, Uranium
For: Arsenic, Uranium
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
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
Hardness
Hard, 174 mg/L (10.2 grains per gallon), at its one sampling point, in 2017.
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.
Violations since 2016
| Contaminant or rule | Type | Period | Measured | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lead and Copper Rule Revisions | The required inventory of lead service lines was not completed or submitted on time.EPA: LSL Inventory | Oct. 17, 2024 | — | Resolved |
| Groundwater Rule | A significant problem found in a state inspection was not fixed on time.EPA: Failure To Address Deficiency | March 2, 2018 | — | Resolved |
| Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 15 monitoring or reporting violations not shown. | ||||
What this report can’t tell you
Everything else. Arsenic, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride and chromium (total) results here are Wisconsin’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Uranium comes from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Ironton Waterworks’s own annual report, which it must send you every year, has newer results for those and 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 Sept. 27, 2020 to April 16, 2025; EPA’s compliance samples are from Aug. 1, 2017 to Aug. 1, 2017.
Testing your own tap
The 3 labs Wisconsin certifies closest to the area Ironton Waterworks serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Pure Water Labs, LLC
Reedsburg, WI · about 8 miles
Certified for bacteria
Pure Water Labs, LLC
Lodi, WI · about 8 miles
Certified for bacteria
CT Laboratories
Baraboo, WI · about 22 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts
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 WisconsinSources
- EPA UCMR 5 occurrence data, file of Oct. 15, 2026
- EPA SDWA bulk download (SDWIS federal data), 2026 Q3
- Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Drinking Water Program, results from Jan. 2, 2020 to Oct. 5, 2026, read Oct. 8, 2026
- EPA Six-Year Review 4 compliance monitoring data, 2012 to 2019, file of Feb. 5, 2024
- Certified labs: Wisconsin DNR and DATCP, certified and approved drinking water laboratories, read Oct. 10, 2026; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer
- Hardness: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Drinking Water Program, results from Aug. 1, 2017 to Aug. 1, 2017, read Oct. 10, 2026
- Limits and goals: each contaminant’s page, with its EPA source.
- How this page is built: methodology.
PWSID WI1570849. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.
What to do next
- Read up on the 2 results above a lineWhat each one does to health, where it comes from, and the certification claim that addresses it.Start with Arsenic
- Get the utility’s own reportIronton Waterworks must send you a water quality report every year. It covers contaminants this page does not show, and has newer results than EPA’s national file for the ones here that come from it.How to read it
- Test your own tap for leadYour service line, solder and fixtures decide the lead at your faucet, not the utility’s average.Lead in your water: what to do
- Compare certified filtersWhat the filters certified for these results cost over five years, cartridges included.Compare five-year costs