Public Drinking Water Quality

Date posted: 05/20/2009

Drinking water quality is determined by the level of contaminants found in public water systems. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), through the Safe Drinking Water Act, has established contaminant level standards for over 90 chemical, microbiological, radiological, and physical contaminants in public drinking water. Public water systems systematically sample and test drinking water and provide those results to the Colorado Department of Health and Environment (CDPHE). CDPHE then aggregates and reports those data to the EPA. Any health violations (not meeting EPA standards) or monitoring violations (failure to comply with testing procedures) are made available to the public through the EPA's Envirofacts database.

A community water system is defined as a facility that provides drinking water to the same population year-round (as opposed to a campground water system, which may supply water to a changing population for only part of the year). The data below concern only medium to very large (serving 3,300+ residents) community water systems. Information on water quality in smaller water systems can be found in the Envirofacts database, which contains data on all public water systems in Larimer County and the United States, including those serving campgrounds.

Larimer County's large water systems are owned either by towns and cities, or by water districts. Water districts are independent (proprietary or semi-governmental) entities that provide water to County residents who live outside the bounds of city and town water systems.

What this chart shows: Larimer County Residents Served by Medium to Very Large (3,300+ Residents) Community Water Systems

Data Source: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Envirofacts Data Warehouse

See data table

What this chart shows: Health and Monitoring Violations in Medium to Very Large (3,300+ Residents) Larimer County Community Water Systems

Data Source: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Envirofacts Warehouse

See data table

What these data tell us:

The water quality in medium to very large Larimer County water systems is generally good. The YMCA of the Rockies had the most monitoring/ reporting violations (9) between 1999 and 2008. There were five water systems that had health violations during this time period (Berthoud, Fort Collins-Loveland Water District, Little Thompson and West Fort Collins, and YMCA of the Rockies).

Smaller water systems are generally more likely to have health and/or monitoring violations. For information on water quality in Larimer County's smaller water systems, see the EPA's Envirofacts database.

Additional Information:

Ownership of Medium to Very Large Larimer County Water Systems

Water system facilities in Colorado may be owned by individuals, cities, or other entities. The large water systems in Larimer County are owned either by towns, or by independent water districts. Water systems owners are responsible for meeting quality and monitoring requirements enforced by the EPA. The ownership of the water systems shown on this page is as follows:

• Berthoud: Owned by the Town of Berthoud
• East Larimer County: Independent semi-governmental entity
• Estes Park: Owned by the Town of Estes Park
• Fort Collins: Owned by the City of Fort Collins
• Fort Collins/Loveland Water District: Independent semi-governmental entity
• Little Thompson: Independent user-owned entity
• Loveland: Owned by the City of Loveland
• Northern Colorado Water Association: Independent user-owned entity
• Wellington: Owned by the Town of Wellington
• West Fort Collins: Owned by the West Fort Collins Water District

A map of the water districts above outlines their boundaries.

On Compass:

• Water Consumption

Outside Compass:

• Colorado Source Water and Protection (SWAP) Program: Information about the educational agency in the Colorado Department of Public Health designed to provide information to consumers and communities about the quality of their drinking water and to encourage protection of community source waters.
• Colorado Water Quality Control Commission: Information about the administrative agency in the Colorado Department of Public Health that is responsible for developing specific state water quality policies, in a manner that implements the broader policies set forth by the legislature in the Colorado Water Quality Control Act.
• Colorado Water Quality Control Division: Information about the regulatory agency in the Colorado Department of Public Health that regulates the discharge of pollutants into the state's surface and ground waters and enforces the Primary Drinking Water Regulations.
• Environmental Protection Agency - Ground Water and Drinking Water: Information about ground and drinking water contaminants and potential health effects, data, and related programs.

EPA Ground Water & Drinking Water Reports:

• Water & Health Series: Bottled Water Basics
• Water & Health Series: Filtration Facts
• Water On Tap: What You Need To Know
• Water Quality Reports:

Estes Park 2007

Fort Collins 2007

Fort Collins-Loveland Water District 2007

Loveland 2007

Industry Standards or Targets:

For a table of currently regulated contaminants, their potential health effects, and their sources, read the National Primary Drinking Water Standards on the EPA website.

Data Tables:

Population Served, and Health and Monitoring Violations for Medium to Very Large (3,300+ Residents) Larimer County Community Water Systems

Community Water System	Population Served	Water Source Type	Health Violations Since 1999	Reporting/ Monitoring Violations Since 1999	Violation Years	Violation Type(s)	Contaminant(s)
Berthoud	4,919	Surface water	1	1	2005 2006	MCL*, Monthly (TCR), Monitoring and Reporting Stage 1	Coliform (TCR); Carbon, Total-Organic
East Larimer County Water District	19,026	Purchased surface water	0	0	n/a	Monitoring, Routine (Minor)	Coliform (TCR)
Estes Park	16,022	Surface water	0	2	2006 2007	Monitoring, Regular	Fluoride Carbon, Total-Organic
Fort Collins- Loveland Water District	34,219	Purchased surface water	1	0	2008	MCL*, Acute (TCR)	Coliform (TCR)
Fort Collins	125,500	Surface water	0	5	2002 2006	Monitoring and Reporting Stage 1	Chlorite; Chlorine Dioxide
Little Thompson	20,001	Purchased surface water	1	0	2005	MCL*, Monthly (TCR)	Coliform (TCR)
Loveland	61,871	Surface water	0	4	2003 2006	Monitoring and Reporting Stage 1	Carbon, Total-Organic; Chlorite; Chlorine dioxide
Northern Colorado Water Association	4,550	Ground water	0	33	2005	Monitoring, Routine (Minor)	See EPA website
Wellington	6,250	Surface water	0	2	2004 2006	Follow-up and Routine Tap Sampling; Treatment Technique Precursor Removal	Lead & Copper Rule; Carbon, Total-Organic
West Fort Collins Water District	4,000	Purchased surface water	1	1	2002 2006	MCL*, Monthly (TCR); Monitoring, Routine Major (TCR)	Coliform (TCR)
YMCA of the Rockies Wind River	4,040	Surface water	4	5	2005 2008	MCL*, Average	See EPA website
* Maximum Contaminant Level

See charts:

Population Served

Health and Monitoring Violations

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