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Surface Water Treatment Rule in U.S. Drinking Water

Health-based violation data for Surface Water Treatment Rule from EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS). Covers all community water systems with violations on record.

Surface Water Treatment Rule has been found in violation of EPA standards in 2,227 water systems across 45 states, with 12,309 total health-based violations recorded. The most affected states are California, Alaska, Oklahoma.

Health-Based Violation Records
12,309
Water Systems Affected
2,227
States Affected
45

Surface Water Treatment Rule is regulated under the EPA Safe Drinking Water Act, which sets enforceable Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) and associated treatment technique requirements for public water systems. The EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) tracks every recorded violation nationwide and links it back to the specific public water system (PWSID), violation type, and begin date.

Across the United States, PlainEnviro's joined extract contains 12,309 health-based violation records carrying Surface Water Treatment Rule (EPA code 0200) across 2,227 active community water systems in 45 states. Raw record counts are highest in California, Alaska, Oklahoma, with California accounting for 1,265 records across 164 systems. Health-effect prose is shown only when the official ECHO substance name matches a verified topic; otherwise the portal stays silent rather than inventing guidance.

A health-based violation does not mean residents were necessarily harmed, it means the contaminant exceeded the federal MCL in a compliance sample, triggering notification and remediation requirements. States and utilities maintain primary enforcement responsibility. To check the status of a specific water system, request its most recent Consumer Confidence Report or consult the EPA's Drinking Water Watch portal for the corresponding state.

Violations by State

States ranked by number of health-based violations for Surface Water Treatment Rule.

# State Violations Systems Affected
1 California 1,265 164
2 Alaska 1,113 79
3 Oklahoma 809 73
4 Colorado 660 101
5 Oregon 470 67
6 Washington 407 37
7 New York 328 143
8 Arkansas 312 29
9 Pennsylvania 291 74
10 Puerto Rico 167 102
11 Louisiana 152 9
12 Iowa 99 11
13 Montana 95 22
14 New Jersey 77 20
15 Idaho 74 21
16 Arizona 65 11
17 Texas 54 13
18 West Virginia 51 15
19 Utah 46 14
20 New Mexico 35 13
21 Massachusetts 27 14
22 Tennessee 24 9
23 Kansas 22 4
24 Ohio 22 9
25 Connecticut 20 11
26 Missouri 19 6
27 Nebraska 18 6
28 Virginia 16 10
29 Vermont 15 14
30 Maine 13 6
31 New Hampshire 13 4
32 Wyoming 13 8
33 Hawaii 12 8
34 North Carolina 12 5
35 District of Columbia 10 1
36 Michigan 10 3
37 South Carolina 9 2
38 Florida 8 3
39 Georgia 8 3
40 Indiana 6 3
41 Maryland 6 6
42 Nevada 6 5
43 South Dakota 2 1
44 Rhode Island 1 1
45 American Samoa 1 1

Most Affected Water Systems

Top 50 water systems by number of Surface Water Treatment Rule health-based violations.

Water System State Violations
Grindstone Rancheria CA 196
HOMINY OK 193
FOREST SPRINGS CA 108
LAS CUMBRES MUTUAL WATER CO CA 107
ORIENT WATER COMPANY WA 107
KIVALINA WATER SYSTEM AK 103
KWETHLUK NEW PIPED WATER SYSTEM AK 101
HARRIS FARMS HEADQUARTERS CA 98
WEISS ESTATES WATER SYSTEM OR 91
SONOMA COUNTY MUTUAL WATER COMPANY CA 83
WALLA WALLA WATER DIVISION WA 81
GALICE SUBDIVISION WATER CO OR 79
TOWN OF NEWELLTON WATER SYSTEM LA 75
BLAWNOX BORO WATER DEPT PA 68
KOKHANOK WATER & WW SYSTEM AK 63
GUION WATER DEPARTMENT AR 63
HOLDENVILLE OK 61
CHARITON MUNICIPAL WATER WORKS IA 56
OLD HARBOR AK 55
SARDIS LAKE WATER AUTHORITY OK 50
PASKENTA COMM. SERVICES DIST. CA 49
KAPOWSIN WATER DISTRICT WA 48
WAGONER CO. RWD #2 OK 47
MCNEIL ISLAND WATER WA 47
SELAWIK SAFEWATER FACILITY AK 45
KASAAN AK 42
DANVILLE WATERWORKS AR 39
ODEN-PENCIL BLUFF WATER ASSN AR 39
FT LUPTON CITY OF CO 39
EMPIRE TOWN OF CO 36
QUINHAGAK WATER SYSTEM AK 35
OPHIR TOWN OF CO 34
CHENEGA AK 33
PARADOX PIPELINE CO CO 33
CASCADE GORGE PROPERTIES OR 33
BARNSDALL OK 32
CALMOR COVE CLUB WA 32
GRAYLING WATER SYSTEM AK 31
KONGIGANAK WATER SYSTEM AK 30
LITTLE ELK CREEK CO 30
VILLAGE OF CLARENCE WATER SYSTEM LA 30
EUFAULA PWA OK 30
PORT LIONS AK 29
REDCREST WATER WORKS CA 29
BUCKLAND WATER SYSTEM AK 28
NONDALTON AK 26
HARRIS FEEDING COMPANY CA 26
DENTON TOWN OF MT 25
PINNACLE WATER ASSOCIATION WV 25
PANGBURN WATERWORKS AR 24

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Surface Water Treatment Rule in my water?

Surface Water Treatment Rule has been detected in violation of EPA health standards in 2,227 water systems across 45 states. To check your specific utility, look up your annual Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) - water systems are required to disclose all violations.

How many water systems have Surface Water Treatment Rule violations?

EPA SDWIS records show 2,227 community water systems with health-based Surface Water Treatment Rule violations, totaling 12,309 violations. These represent cases where the contaminant exceeded the EPA Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL).

Which states have the most Surface Water Treatment Rule violations?

The states with the most Surface Water Treatment Rule violations are: California (1,265 violations), Alaska (1,113 violations), Oklahoma (809 violations), Colorado (660 violations), Oregon (470 violations).

Explore More

Water Quality Home → All Contaminants → Browse by State →

About This Data

Violation data is from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS). Only health-based violations are shown, these include Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) and Treatment Technique (TT) violations. Monitoring and reporting violations are excluded. Data may not reflect the most current enforcement actions.

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, SDWIS Federal Reporting Services

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

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Data sourced from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainEnviro