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Community Water System · PWS IL0370350

Malta

Malta, Illinois 60150 - drinking water served from groundwater sources to 1,143 people, tracked in EPA SDWIS and UCMR5.

1,143
People served
44
EPA violations
19
Health-based
Untested
UCMR5 result

The verdict

EPA records 44 drinking-water violations at Malta, 43% of them health-based - below the Illinois per-system average.

44
Total EPA violations on record
43%
Health-based (MCL / treatment failure)
1,143
People served by this system
N/A
PFAS compounds detected (UCMR5)

Water Quality Snapshot: Malta

Malta is a local-owned community water system that delivers drinking water to 1,143 residents in Malta, Illinois (DeKalb County) through 470 service connections. Its water is drawn from groundwater sources. EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System records 44 total violations for this system , of which 19 (43%) are health-based, meaning a contaminant exceeded an EPA Maximum Contaminant Level or a required treatment technique failed. A further 12 monitoring and reporting violations are on file. The most recent violation on record dates to 2025.

The most frequently cited contaminant at this system is Combined Radium (-226 and -228), recorded in 19 violations (MCL, health-based). This system has not yet been sampled under EPA's UCMR5 PFAS monitoring program, so no PFAS detection data is available here.

Across Illinois, EPA tracks 5,117 public water systems serving 12,576,876 people, with 355,322 cumulative violations and 52,932 health-based violations on record. About 81% of systems in the state carry at least one violation, and state-wide the average per system is 69.4 violations. Statewide, 199 of 487 UCMR5-tested systems have reported PFAS detections (40.9%).

Malta's 44 violations sit below the Illinois average.

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

Population Served
1,143
Total Violations
44
Health-Based Violations
19
Water Source
Groundwater

System Details

System Type
Community
Owner Type
Local
Connections
470
County
DeKalb
School/Daycare
No
MCL Violations
19
Monitoring Violations
12
Treatment Tech Violations
0

Violation History

Contaminant violations recorded by EPA.

Contaminant Category Count Latest
Combined Radium (-226 and -228) MCL 19 1987
Gross Alpha, Excl. Radon and U MR 4 1990
Combined Radium (-226 and -228) MR 3 1990
Chlorine MR 3 2025
Revised Total Coliform Rule MON 2 2025
Consumer Confidence Rule Other 2 2018
LEAD AND COPPER RULE REVISIONS RPT 2 2025

Verify This Water System

The figures above are aggregated from EPA's public databases. To verify the underlying records, or to file a complaint, request a Consumer Confidence Report, or check current monitoring status, go directly to the federal and state regulators that enforce the Safe Drinking Water Act for Malta.

Federal Source of Truth

EPA SDWIS, Federal Reports

EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) holds the federal compliance record for every regulated public water system. Open the system-level report by PWS ID:

View PWS ID IL0370350 on SDWIS

Source: EPA SDWIS Federal Reports Search

State Regulator

Illinois Drinking Water Authority

Illinois EPA, Bureau of Water is the primacy agency that licenses and inspects Malta under EPA-delegated authority.

Open IL regulator portal

Source: Illinois EPA, Bureau of Water

Violation Timeline

Each row links to the EPA SDWIS public record for verification. Cross-reference the contaminant code on EPA's federal report to see violation dates, return-to-compliance status, and enforcement actions.

Year (latest) Contaminant Category Count EPA Record
2025 Chlorine MR 3 SDWIS / IL0370350 / 0999
2025 Revised Total Coliform Rule MON 2 SDWIS / IL0370350 / 8000
2025 LEAD AND COPPER RULE REVISIONS RPT 2 SDWIS / IL0370350 / 5200
2018 Consumer Confidence Rule Other 2 SDWIS / IL0370350 / 7000
1990 Gross Alpha, Excl. Radon and U MR 4 SDWIS / IL0370350 / 4000
1990 Combined Radium (-226 and -228) MR 3 SDWIS / IL0370350 / 4010
1987 Combined Radium (-226 and -228) MCL 19 SDWIS / IL0370350 / 4010

How Malta Compares

Cross-reference this system's record against state averages and the federal MCL framework for context.

Metric Malta Illinois avg Federal benchmark
Total violations 44 69.4 SDWA compliance, any non-zero count is a recorded breach
Health-based violations 19 10.3 Indicates a contaminant exceeded a federal MCL
PFAS detection None 40.9% EPA final rule (2024): PFOA/PFOS MCL = 4.0 ppt
Population served 1,143 2,458 Sizing context for compliance burden

Sources: EPA SDWIS and EPA National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (40 CFR Part 141). State averages computed across 5,117 regulated public water systems in Illinois.

Federal MCL reference, Safe Drinking Water Act thresholds ▼
Contaminant Federal MCL / Action Level Note
Lead 0 mg/L (Action Level: 0.015 mg/L) Lead and Copper Rule treatment technique
Arsenic 0.010 mg/L (10 ppb) Health-based MCL since 2006
Total Coliform Treatment technique (RTCR) Indicator organism, monitoring trigger
PFOA / PFOS (PFAS) 4.0 ppt each (final 2024 rule) Compliance deadline 2029 (EPA proposed extending to 2031, not yet final as of May 2026)
Nitrate (as N) 10 mg/L Acute health risk for infants

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Malta water safe to drink? ▼
Malta (PWS ID: IL0370350) has 44 recorded violations in the EPA SDWIS database. No PFAS contamination was detected in UCMR5 testing. This system serves 1,143 people using Groundwater sources.
How many people does Malta serve? ▼
Malta serves 1,143 people in Malta, Illinois. It is a Local-owned system using Groundwater water sources with 470 service connections.
What type of violations does Malta have? ▼
Malta has 44 total violations: 19 health-based violations (MCL exceedances or treatment failures), 12 monitoring/reporting violations, and 0 treatment technique violations. Health-based violations indicate contaminant levels exceeded EPA safe limits.
Has PFAS been detected in Malta water? ▼
No PFAS testing data is available for Malta under the EPA's UCMR5 monitoring program.
What water source does Malta use? ▼
Malta 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.
Data Sources: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), Q4 2025. This data is provided for informational purposes only.

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

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

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