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Lakeland University

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
1,200 people
Connections
33
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Plymouth, WI
County
Sheboygan
Owner
Private
Hardness
Very hard
The ZIP code it serves

53073

The short answer

1 result is above the limit’s level with no violation recorded, and 3 more are above the health goal. The worst: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), above the limit’s level, no violation. No health-based violations on file since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2007 to 2026.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), arsenic, haloacetic acids (HAA5), nitrate, fluoride and chromium (total): Wisconsin’s own results, samples taken from Jan. 15, 2020 to Aug. 18, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Uranium: EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from Aug. 20, 2018 to Aug. 20, 2018. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.

Above the limit’s level, no violation recorded1

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Above the limit’s level, no violation

91.1ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

Averaged by year, the highest was 91.1 ppb, in 2026, above EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 123 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. EPA judges this limit on running averages at each sampling point, and recorded no violation for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at this utility since 2020. Results like these with no violation often include water sampled before treatment or blending; the utility’s annual report says what reaches the tap. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 67.2 ppb, in 2017.

What handles it

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

Above the health goal3

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

3.3ppb

Highest yearly average, 2021 to 2024

2024, one sample: 1.2 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 3.3 ppb, in 2021: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. Its highest single sample was 4.4 ppb. In 2024, the latest year on file, its one sample was 1.2 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 3.5 ppb, in 2015.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

3.2ppb

90th percentile, 2026

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 3.2 ppb, below EPA’s action level of 15 ppb. The action level drops to 10 ppb on Nov. 1, 2027. EPA’s health goal for lead is zero.

What handles it

Uranium

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

0.94ppb

Highest yearly average, 2018

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.94 ppb, in 2018: 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

Below EPA’s limits3

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

27ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026, one sample: 5.0 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 27 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 90 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 5.0 ppb. EPA recorded no violation for haloacetic acids (HAA5) at this utility since 2020. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 15.8 ppb, in 2019.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.58ppm

Highest sample; found in 3 of 8

2026: not found

The highest sample, in 2022, was 0.58 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 0.34 ppm, in 2017.

What handles it

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

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.17ppm

Highest yearly average, 2021 to 2024

2024: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.17 ppm, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2024, 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 0.19 ppm, in 2018.

What handles it

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

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

    Claims: Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction, Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), Arsenic, Lead

    Other certifiers’ wording: VOC Reduction; Arsenic (III) (50 ppb influent level)

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction, Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction, Lead Reduction, Uranium

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), Arsenic, Lead, Uranium

    Other certifiers’ wording: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=300 ppb Reduction; Arsenic (V) (300 ppb influent level)

At the tap, or for the whole house?

Lead and copper usually come from pipes and fixtures inside or near your home. A whole-house system sits where water enters, so it cannot catch what your own plumbing adds after it. For those, the filter that counts is the one at the tap. 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

The best water filters for lead, ranked

Hardness

Very hard, typically 283 mg/L (16.5 grains per gallon), across 4 sampling points, 2018 to 2025.

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

Violations since 2016

No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016. There are 2 monitoring or reporting violations: a sample missed, late or not reported.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), arsenic, haloacetic acids (HAA5), nitrate, 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. Lakeland University’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 Jan. 15, 2020 to Aug. 18, 2026; EPA’s compliance samples are from Aug. 20, 2018 to Aug. 20, 2018.

Testing your own tap

Lakeland University’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 Lakeland University serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Kohler Co., CHEM Lab

    Kohler, WI · about 10 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics

    (920) 457-4441

  • Fond du Lac County Health Department

    Fond du Lac, WI · about 22 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (920) 929-3085

  • Washington Ozaukee Public Health Department

    Port Washington, WI · about 23 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (262) 284-8170

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 WI4600487. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Sheboygan County

All Wisconsin utilities

What to do next