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Community Water System · PWS IL0510250

St Elmo

St Elmo, Illinois 62458 - drinking water served from surface water sources to 1,272 people, tracked in EPA SDWIS and UCMR5.

1,272
People served
105
EPA violations
29
Health-based
Untested
UCMR5 result

The verdict

EPA records 105 drinking-water violations at St Elmo, 28% of them health-based - above the Illinois per-system average.

105
Total EPA violations on record
28%
Health-based (MCL / treatment failure)
1,272
People served by this system
N/A
PFAS compounds detected (UCMR5)

Water Quality Snapshot: St Elmo

St Elmo is a local-owned community water system that delivers drinking water to 1,272 residents in St Elmo, Illinois (Fayette County) through 600 service connections. Its water is drawn from surface water sources. EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System records 105 total violations for this system , of which 29 (28%) are health-based, meaning a contaminant exceeded an EPA Maximum Contaminant Level or a required treatment technique failed. A further 53 monitoring and reporting violations are on file. The most recent violation on record dates to 2014.

The most frequently cited contaminant at this system is Surface Water Treatment Rule, recorded in 35 violations (MR). 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%).

St Elmo's 105 violations sit above 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
1,272
Total Violations
105
Health-Based Violations
29
Water Source
Surface Water

System Details

System Type
Community
Owner Type
Local
Connections
600
County
Fayette
School/Daycare
No
MCL Violations
8
Monitoring Violations
53
Treatment Tech Violations
21

Violation History

Contaminant violations recorded by EPA.

Contaminant Category Count Latest
Surface Water Treatment Rule MR 35 1994
Surface Water Treatment Rule TT 21 1996
Atrazine MCL 8 1997
Coliform (TCR) MR 7 1997
TTHM MR 4 2014
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) MR 4 2014
Chlorine MR 2 2011
Gross Alpha, Excl. Radon and U MR 1 1977

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 St Elmo.

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 IL0510250 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 St Elmo 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
2014 TTHM MR 4 SDWIS / IL0510250 / 2950
2014 Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) MR 4 SDWIS / IL0510250 / 2456
2011 Chlorine MR 2 SDWIS / IL0510250 / 0999
1997 Atrazine MCL 8 SDWIS / IL0510250 / 2050
1997 Coliform (TCR) MR 7 SDWIS / IL0510250 / 3100
1996 Surface Water Treatment Rule TT 21 SDWIS / IL0510250 / 0200
1994 Surface Water Treatment Rule MR 35 SDWIS / IL0510250 / 0200
1977 Gross Alpha, Excl. Radon and U MR 1 SDWIS / IL0510250 / 4000

How St Elmo Compares

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

Metric St Elmo Illinois avg Federal benchmark
Total violations 105 69.4 SDWA compliance, any non-zero count is a recorded breach
Health-based violations 29 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 1,272 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 St Elmo water safe to drink? ▼
St Elmo (PWS ID: IL0510250) has 105 recorded violations in the EPA SDWIS database. No PFAS contamination was detected in UCMR5 testing. This system serves 1,272 people using Surface Water sources.
How many people does St Elmo serve? ▼
St Elmo serves 1,272 people in St Elmo, Illinois. It is a Local-owned system using Surface Water water sources with 600 service connections.
What type of violations does St Elmo have? ▼
St Elmo has 105 total violations: 29 health-based violations (MCL exceedances or treatment failures), 53 monitoring/reporting violations, and 21 treatment technique violations. Health-based violations indicate contaminant levels exceeded EPA safe limits.
Has PFAS been detected in St Elmo water? ▼
No PFAS testing data is available for St Elmo under the EPA's UCMR5 monitoring program.
What water source does St Elmo use? ▼
St Elmo uses Surface Water 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.