Is Tainter Lake, WI tap water safe?
The short answer
Neither of the 2 utilities serving Tainter Lake has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and Wisconsin’s records.
Menomonie Waterworks, which serves the most people here, has 1 result above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 1.3 ppb, above the health goal. Health goals are stricter than legal limits and are not enforced.
The water from Menomonie Waterworks is moderately hard to hard depending on the source, 110 to 180 mg/L (6.4 to 10.5 grains per gallon). How Wisconsin’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 Tainter Lake’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
Menomonie Waterworks
Wisconsin · serves 15,950 people · about 230 in Tainter Lake
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 1.3 ppb, above the health goal. Hardness: moderately hard to hard depending on the source, 110 to 180 mg/L (6.4 to 10.5 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Colfax Waterworks
Wisconsin · serves 1,102 people · about 130 in Tainter Lake
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic at 0.36 ppb, above the health goal. Hardness: soft, typically 21 mg/L (1.2 grains per gallon).
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 Menomonie Waterworks’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.
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Brita Tahoe Pitcher with Elite Filter (OB60, OB06)
Pitcher
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 13, 2026
- IAPMO listing:NSF/ANSI 53checked Oct. 13, 2026
Certified for: Lead
Brita Everyday Pitcher with Elite Filter (OB46, OB06)
Pitcher
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 13, 2026
Certified for: Lead
PUR PLUS 11-Cup Pitcher (PPT111W)
Pitcher
- NSF listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 4, 2026
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 4, 2026
- IAPMO listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 4, 2026
Certified for: Lead
Water testing near Tainter Lake
The 3 labs Wisconsin certifies closest to Tainter Lake, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Commercial Testing Laboratory Inc.
Colfax, WI · about 8 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics
Dunn County Health Department
Menomonie, WI · about 8 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate
Menomonie Waste Water
Menomonie, WI · about 8 miles
Certified for bacteria
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 WisconsinWhich ZIP codes are in Tainter Lake: 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: Wisconsin DNR and DATCP, certified and approved drinking water laboratories; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer.
Near Tainter Lake
Other towns in Dunn County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read Menomonie Waterworks’s full reportEvery result with its dates, the violations, and the certification claim that handles each finding.Open the report
- Filters for LeadRanked by certification and what they cost over five years.The best water filters for lead, ranked
- On a private well?No utility tests a well. A certified lab test is the first step.How to test well water