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Community Water System · PWS IL1830600

Prairie Path Water Company-Oakwood

McHenry, Illinois 60050 - drinking water served from surface water sources to 1,600 people, tracked in EPA SDWIS and UCMR5.

1,600
People served
67
EPA violations
43
Health-based
Untested
UCMR5 result

The verdict

EPA records 67 drinking-water violations at Prairie Path Water Company-Oakwood, 64% of them health-based - below the Illinois per-system average.

67
Total EPA violations on record
64%
Health-based (MCL / treatment failure)
1,600
People served by this system
N/A
PFAS compounds detected (UCMR5)

Water Quality Snapshot: Prairie Path Water Company-Oakwood

Prairie Path Water Company-Oakwood is a private-owned community water system that delivers drinking water to 1,600 residents in McHenry, Illinois (Vermilion County) through 765 service connections. Its water is drawn from surface water sources. EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System records 67 total violations for this system , of which 43 (64%) are health-based, meaning a contaminant exceeded an EPA Maximum Contaminant Level or a required treatment technique failed. A further 16 monitoring and reporting violations are on file. The most recent violation on record dates to 2020.

The most frequently cited contaminant at this system is Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5), recorded in 24 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%).

Prairie Path Water Company-Oakwood's 67 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
1,600
Total Violations
67
Health-Based Violations
43
Water Source
Surface Water

System Details

System Type
Community
Owner Type
Private
Connections
765
County
Vermilion
School/Daycare
No
MCL Violations
26
Monitoring Violations
16
Treatment Tech Violations
17

Violation History

Contaminant violations recorded by EPA.

Contaminant Category Count Latest
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) MCL 24 2013
CARBON, TOTAL TT 11 2011
Coliform (TCR) MR 7 1995
Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule TT 6 2020
CARBON, TOTAL MR 4 2004
Chlorine MR 4 2004
Nitrate MCL 2 1989
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 Prairie Path Water Company-Oakwood.

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 IL1830600 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 Prairie Path Water Company-Oakwood 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
2020 Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule TT 6 SDWIS / IL1830600 / 0300
2013 Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) MCL 24 SDWIS / IL1830600 / 2456
2011 CARBON, TOTAL TT 11 SDWIS / IL1830600 / 2920
2004 CARBON, TOTAL MR 4 SDWIS / IL1830600 / 2920
2004 Chlorine MR 4 SDWIS / IL1830600 / 0999
1995 Coliform (TCR) MR 7 SDWIS / IL1830600 / 3100
1989 Nitrate MCL 2 SDWIS / IL1830600 / 1040
1977 Gross Alpha, Excl. Radon and U MR 1 SDWIS / IL1830600 / 4000

How Prairie Path Water Company-Oakwood Compares

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

Metric Prairie Path Water Company-Oakwood Illinois avg Federal benchmark
Total violations 67 69.4 SDWA compliance, any non-zero count is a recorded breach
Health-based violations 43 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 1,600 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 Prairie Path Water Company-Oakwood water safe to drink? ▼
Prairie Path Water Company-Oakwood (PWS ID: IL1830600) has 67 recorded violations in the EPA SDWIS database. No PFAS contamination was detected in UCMR5 testing. This system serves 1,600 people using Surface Water sources.
How many people does Prairie Path Water Company-Oakwood serve? ▼
Prairie Path Water Company-Oakwood serves 1,600 people in McHenry, Illinois. It is a Private-owned system using Surface Water water sources with 765 service connections.
What type of violations does Prairie Path Water Company-Oakwood have? ▼
Prairie Path Water Company-Oakwood has 67 total violations: 43 health-based violations (MCL exceedances or treatment failures), 16 monitoring/reporting violations, and 17 treatment technique violations. Health-based violations indicate contaminant levels exceeded EPA safe limits.
Has PFAS been detected in Prairie Path Water Company-Oakwood water? ▼
No PFAS testing data is available for Prairie Path Water Company-Oakwood under the EPA's UCMR5 monitoring program.
What water source does Prairie Path Water Company-Oakwood use? ▼
Prairie Path Water Company-Oakwood 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.