Question 1

Is Zearing Water Department water safe to drink?

Accepted Answer

Zearing Water Department (PWS ID: IA8590041) has 97 recorded violations in the EPA SDWIS database. No PFAS contamination was detected in UCMR5 testing. EPA SDWIS lists this system's service population as 528 people using Groundwater sources.

Question 2

How many people does Zearing Water Department serve?

Accepted Answer

EPA SDWIS reports that Zearing Water Department serves 528 people (this public water system's service population, not the municipal population of Zearing or any other city). It is a Local-owned system using Groundwater water sources with 269 service connections. The operator address is listed in Zearing, Iowa.

Question 3

What type of violations does Zearing Water Department have?

Accepted Answer

Zearing Water Department has 97 total violations: 7 health-based violations (MCL exceedances or treatment failures), 77 monitoring/reporting violations, and 7 treatment technique violations. Health-based violations indicate contaminant levels exceeded EPA safe limits.

Question 4

Has PFAS been detected in Zearing Water Department water?

Accepted Answer

No PFAS testing data is available for Zearing Water Department under the EPA's UCMR5 monitoring program.

Question 5

What water source does Zearing Water Department use?

Accepted Answer

Zearing Water Department uses Groundwater as its primary water source. It is classified as a Community Water System (CWS), serving residential populations year-round.

Question 6

Where does this data come from?

Accepted Answer

All data comes from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) and the UCMR5 PFAS monitoring program. SDWIS tracks compliance for all public water systems regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Question 7

Where does Zearing Water Department sit among U.S. public water systems?

Accepted Answer

According to EPA SDWIS population_served among sitemap-advertised systems (serving 500+), Zearing Water Department ranks #27,976 of 29,740 by people served, and #523 of 545 in Iowa. Ordinals use population_served DESC among systems serving 500+ (the sitemap cohort). See /methodology#corpus-placement.

Question 8

How does Zearing Water Department's violation count compare nationally?

Accepted Answer

Zearing Water Department has 97 recorded EPA SDWIS violations, fewer than 27% of the 29,740 public water systems serving 500 or more people nationwide (the same sitemap cohort used for the corpus-placement ranking above). 73% of that cohort has fewer violations than Zearing Water Department. A system can have zero recorded violations and still be actively monitored, and a high violation count often reflects a system that reports thoroughly, not necessarily one with worse water.

Contaminant	Category	Count	Latest
Arsenic	MR	13	2002
Coliform (TCR)	MR	12	2003
TTHM	MR	12	2023
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)	MR	12	2023
Nitrate	MR	9	2003
Revised Total Coliform Rule	MON	4	2024
Lead and Copper Rule	MR	4	2018
Revised Total Coliform Rule	TT	4	2016
Epichlorohydrin	TT	3	2016
Public Notice	Other	3	2024
Barium	MR	2	1988
Chromium	MR	2	1988
Mercury	MR	2	1988
Selenium	MR	2	1988
Cadmium	MR	2	1988
Fluoride	MR	1	1988

Zearing Water Department

Zearing Water Department standing, high SDWIS violation third

System Details

Violation History

Violation Count vs. the National Corpus

Population served record for Zearing Water Department

Nationwide peers

Cross-state systems with comparable violation load

Cross-state systems with smaller service footprints