Is Birch Creek Culinary water safe to drink?

Birch Creek Culinary (PWS ID: ID6210009) has 223 recorded violations in the EPA SDWIS database. No PFAS contamination was detected in UCMR5 testing. EPA SDWIS lists this system's service population as 120 people using Groundwater sources.

How many people does Birch Creek Culinary serve?

EPA SDWIS reports that Birch Creek Culinary serves 120 people (this public water system's service population, not the municipal population of Preston or any other city). It is a Private-owned system using Groundwater water sources with 31 service connections. The operator address is listed in Preston, Idaho.

What type of violations does Birch Creek Culinary have?

Birch Creek Culinary has 223 total violations: 25 health-based violations (MCL exceedances or treatment failures), 174 monitoring/reporting violations, and 12 treatment technique violations. Health-based violations indicate contaminant levels exceeded EPA safe limits.

Has PFAS been detected in Birch Creek Culinary water?

No PFAS testing data is available for Birch Creek Culinary under the EPA's UCMR5 monitoring program.

What water source does Birch Creek Culinary use?

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

Where does this data come from?

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.

How does Birch Creek Culinary's violation count compare nationally?

Birch Creek Culinary has 223 recorded EPA SDWIS violations, fewer than 13% of the 29,740 public water systems serving 500 or more people nationwide (the same sitemap cohort used for the corpus-placement ranking above). 87% of that cohort has fewer violations than Birch Creek Culinary. 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.

States → Idaho

Community Water System · PWS ID6210009

Birch Creek Culinary

Operator location Preston, Idaho - smaller served population (≤ 999) at 120 people served; 223 SDWIS violations on record from groundwater sources.

Compiled by PlainWater · May 15, 2026

120
People served (this PWS) Smaller third of systems: 223
EPA violations (this PWS) Upper third of systems: 25
Health-based (this PWS) Middle third by health-based share: Untested
UCMR5 (this PWS) No UCMR5 result

Follow published updates (RSS)

Birch Creek Culinary standing, high SDWIS violation third

120 people served (SDWIS) - smaller served population (≤ 999). Corpus terciles use 29,740 systems serving 500+ (the sitemap cohort). Health-based share 11% is middle-third health share (≤ 23%).

The verdict

Birch Creek Culinary sits in the upper third of the sitemap cohort by violation count (223), so the tables below sample a dense compliance trail rather than a near-clean ledger. Population served is smaller (120; smaller served population (≤ 999)), so each violation row represents a compact service footprint. Health-based share is 11% (middle-third health share (≤ 23%)). No UCMR5 PFAS test appears for this system in this extract.

223
Total EPA violations on record: 11%
Health-based (MCL / treatment failure): 120
People served by this PWS (SDWIS): N/A
PFAS compounds detected (UCMR5)

Population ordinals match the sitemap cohort (systems serving 500+, population_served DESC). See methodology · corpus placement.

Water Safety Score

7/100

Birch Creek Culinary

Based on EPA SDWIS violation history and UCMR5 PFAS testing only, not water taste, odor, infrastructure age, or contaminants outside the federally tracked set.

Health-based violations F

EPA SDWIS health-based violations on record (MCL, MRDL, treatment technique)

Monitoring & reporting violations F

198

Non-health SDWIS violations (monitoring, reporting, and other compliance)

PFAS contamination N/A

Not UCMR5-tested

Highest PFAS compound level detected in UCMR5 testing

System Details

System Type: Community
Owner Type: Private
Connections: 31
County: Franklin
School/Daycare: No
MCL Violations: 13
Monitoring Violations: 174
Treatment Tech Violations: 12

Violation History

Contaminant violations recorded by EPA.

Contaminant	Category	Count	Latest
Groundwater Rule	MR	98	2023
Lead and Copper Rule	MR	17	2017
Public Notice	Other	12	2012
Groundwater Rule	TT	12	2012
Coliform (TCR)	MCL	8	2015
TTHM	MR	7	2017
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)	MR	7	2017
Revised Total Coliform Rule	MCL	5	2022
Revised Total Coliform Rule	MON	4	2016
E. COLI	MR	4	2022
Coliform (TCR)	MR	3	1996
Atrazine	MR	2	1993
Chlordane	MR	2	1993
Heptachlor	MR	2	1993
Toxaphene	MR	2	1993
Total Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB)	MR	2	1993
Pentachlorophenol	MR	2	1993
2,4,5-TP	MR	2	1993
Carbofuran	MR	2	1993
1,2-DIBROMO-3-CHLOROPROPANE	MR	2	1993
BHC-GAMMA	MR	2	1993
Nitrite	MR	2	1993
LASSO	MR	2	1993
Methoxychlor	MR	2	1993
2,4-D	MR	2	1993
Heptachlor epoxide	MR	2	1993
ETHYLENE DIBROMIDE	MR	2	1993
Nitrate	MR	1	1995
Gross Alpha, Excl. Radon and U	MR	1	1979

Violation Count vs. the National Corpus

Birch Creek Culinary has 223 recorded EPA violations, 87% of the 29,740 public water systems serving 500+ people nationwide carry fewer, and 13% carry more. 11% of this system's own violations are health-based (25 of 223), and it ranks unranked by population served among that same cohort.

EPA violations vs. the national water-system corpus

Public water systems serving 500+ people (EPA SDWIS)

223 Higher than most more violations than 87% of 29,740 water systems

the national water-system corpus, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more water systems. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source EPA SDWIS · 2026-05-15

How many violations vs. how serious, among peer systems

Birch Creek Culinary plotted against 29 peer public water systems (500+ people served), by total violation count (x) and the share of those violations that are health-based (y). The crosshair sits at this sample's own median on each axis. A high violation count does not automatically mean a serious record: most monitoring and reporting violations are minor, not health-based.

30 public water systems (500+ people served), EPA SDWIS current release.

How to read this

Each dot is one public water system; the highlighted dot is Birch Creek Culinary. A system to the right has more recorded violations; a system higher up has a larger share of those violations classified health-based rather than monitoring or reporting.

Rare but serious: few violations, but most of them are health-based.
Frequent, mostly paperwork: many violations, but mostly monitoring or reporting, not health-based.
Clean record: below-median on both counts, the tinted corner.

View all 30 systems as a list

City of Ballinger: 372 violations, 85% health-based
Nooksack Valley Water Association: 16 violations, 31% health-based
Montgomery Co RWD 12: 7 violations, 29% health-based
Irvin Water District #6: 11 violations, 27% health-based
Ticonderoga WD: 47 violations, 26% health-based
Pine Valley Plantation: 37 violations, 24% health-based
McLouth, City Of: 29 violations, 17% health-based
Kipling Oaks 1: 25 violations, 16% health-based
South Deerfield Water Supply District: 96 violations, 16% health-based
Sunset Ridge Water District: 82 violations, 15% health-based
Orange Water Dept: 136 violations, 14% health-based
Mount Pleasant Water Sys #1: 167 violations, 11% health-based
Birch Creek Culinary: 223 violations, 11% health-based (this system)
Lake Gibson Estates: 42 violations, 2% health-based
Benson Culinary Improvement District: 212 violations, 1% health-based
Conemaugh Twp Muni Auth: 567 violations, 1% health-based
Miccosukee Service Plaza: 0 violations, 0% health-based
Brazoria - Fort Bend Counties MUD 3: 0 violations, 0% health-based
Tanglewilde Thompson Place 600: 2 violations, 0% health-based
Center Water Co: 5 violations, 0% health-based
Spring Mills Elem School/Hvs: 9 violations, 0% health-based
Great Bend Industrial Park: 14 violations, 0% health-based
Glen Park Village: 19 violations, 0% health-based
Camp Is-Sho-Da: 22 violations, 0% health-based
Hamilton: 33 violations, 0% health-based
Town of Welaka: 54 violations, 0% health-based
Township of Blairstown Dpw: 61 violations, 0% health-based
McIntosh Water & Fire Pro Authority: 71 violations, 0% health-based
Clarkdale Municipal Water System: 114 violations, 0% health-based
Eureka Water Association: 273 violations, 0% health-based

Population served record for Birch Creek Culinary

EPA SDWIS lists 120 people served and 31 connections for this PWS, confirm the service-area footprint on the federal report before comparing to municipal census totals.

EPA SDWIS · PWS ID6210009

Sources: EPA SDWIS

Nationwide peers

223 violations · 120 served: nearest cross-state SDWIS matches.

Cross-state systems with comparable violation load

Nearest cross-state community systems (500+ served) by total SDWIS violations on record.

4 peers

What to do with Birch Creek Culinary

Use this system's EPA-reported record as a starting filter, not a final verdict.

See how every tracked system in Idaho compares on the same EPA violation measures. Idaho systems
Check whether PFAS was detected at this system under UCMR5 testing. PFAS guide
Find and compare another public water system by name or PWSID. Search systems

EPA SDWIS and UCMR5 figures are informational only, not a substitute for a certified lab test of your own tap water.

Data sourced from EPA SDWIS and UCMR5 PFAS monitoring data. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainWater

Compiled by PlainWater, Drinking Water Quality Editorial Process · May 15, 2026

Every figure on PlainWater is rendered directly from EPA SDWIS drinking-water data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.