Cherokee MD

Water Quality Snapshot: Cherokee MD

Cherokee MD is a local-owned community water system that delivers drinking water to 29,610 residents in Colorado Springs, Colorado (El Paso County) through 9,111 service connections. Its water is drawn from groundwater sources. EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System records 180 total violations for this system , of which 0 (0%) are health-based, meaning a contaminant exceeded an EPA Maximum Contaminant Level or a required treatment technique failed. A further 179 monitoring and reporting violations are on file. The most recent violation on record dates to 2023.

The most frequently cited contaminant at this system is Hexachlorocyclopentadiene, recorded in 14 violations (MR). Under EPA's UCMR5 PFAS monitoring program, 4 PFAS compounds were detected in samples collected from this system, with a maximum reported concentration of 19.8 ppt (parts per trillion). PFAS are persistent synthetic chemicals linked to health effects at very low exposure levels.

Across Colorado, EPA tracks 2,193 public water systems serving 7,473,456 people, with 238,796 cumulative violations and 30,589 health-based violations on record. About 93% of systems in the state carry at least one violation, and state-wide the average per system is 108.9 violations. Statewide, 98 of 163 UCMR5-tested systems have reported PFAS detections (60.1%).

Cherokee MD's 180 violations sit above the Colorado average.

All figures above are sourced directly from EPA SDWIS and UCMR5 public data releases and are updated as EPA publishes new reporting cycles.