PlainWater
States → Indiana

Community Water System · PWS IN5248017

Orestes Water Works

Orestes, Indiana 46063-0158 - drinking water served from groundwater sources to 400 people, tracked in EPA SDWIS and UCMR5.

400
People served
65
EPA violations
0
Health-based
Untested
UCMR5 result

The verdict

EPA records 65 drinking-water violations at Orestes Water Works - below the Indiana per-system average.

65
Total EPA violations on record
0%
Health-based (MCL / treatment failure)
400
People served by this system
N/A
PFAS compounds detected (UCMR5)

Water Quality Snapshot: Orestes Water Works

Orestes Water Works is a local-owned community water system that delivers drinking water to 400 residents in Orestes, Indiana (Madison County) through 175 service connections. Its water is drawn from groundwater sources. EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System records 65 total violations for this system , of which 0 (0%) are health-based, meaning a contaminant exceeded an EPA Maximum Contaminant Level or a required treatment technique failed. A further 38 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 Coliform (TCR), recorded in 21 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 Indiana, EPA tracks 3,967 public water systems serving 5,774,616 people, with 352,710 cumulative violations and 35,932 health-based violations on record. About 96% of systems in the state carry at least one violation, and state-wide the average per system is 88.9 violations. Statewide, 93 of 229 UCMR5-tested systems have reported PFAS detections (40.6%).

Orestes Water Works's 65 violations sit below the Indiana 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
400
Total Violations
65
Health-Based Violations
0
Water Source
Groundwater

System Details

System Type
Community
Owner Type
Local
Connections
175
County
Madison
School/Daycare
No
MCL Violations
0
Monitoring Violations
38
Treatment Tech Violations
0

Violation History

Contaminant violations recorded by EPA.

Contaminant Category Count Latest
Coliform (TCR) MR 21 2014
Consumer Confidence Rule Other 18 2025
Lead and Copper Rule MR 4 2018
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) MR 4 2014
TTHM MR 4 2014
Nitrate MR 3 1996
Gross Alpha, Excl. Radon and U MR 2 1987

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 Orestes Water Works.

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 IN5248017 on SDWIS

Source: EPA SDWIS Federal Reports Search

State Regulator

Indiana Drinking Water Authority

Indiana Department of Environmental Management, Drinking Water Branch is the primacy agency that licenses and inspects Orestes Water Works under EPA-delegated authority.

Open IN regulator portal

Source: Indiana Department of Environmental Management, Drinking Water Branch

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 Consumer Confidence Rule Other 18 SDWIS / IN5248017 / 7000
2018 Lead and Copper Rule MR 4 SDWIS / IN5248017 / 5000
2014 Coliform (TCR) MR 21 SDWIS / IN5248017 / 3100
2014 Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) MR 4 SDWIS / IN5248017 / 2456
2014 TTHM MR 4 SDWIS / IN5248017 / 2950
1996 Nitrate MR 3 SDWIS / IN5248017 / 1040
1987 Gross Alpha, Excl. Radon and U MR 2 SDWIS / IN5248017 / 4000

How Orestes Water Works Compares

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

Metric Orestes Water Works Indiana avg Federal benchmark
Total violations 65 88.9 SDWA compliance, any non-zero count is a recorded breach
Health-based violations 0 9.1 Indicates a contaminant exceeded a federal MCL
PFAS detection None 40.6% EPA final rule (2024): PFOA/PFOS MCL = 4.0 ppt
Population served 400 1,456 Sizing context for compliance burden

Sources: EPA SDWIS and EPA National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (40 CFR Part 141). State averages computed across 3,967 regulated public water systems in Indiana.

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 Orestes Water Works water safe to drink? ▼
Orestes Water Works (PWS ID: IN5248017) has 65 recorded violations in the EPA SDWIS database. No PFAS contamination was detected in UCMR5 testing. This system serves 400 people using Groundwater sources.
How many people does Orestes Water Works serve? ▼
Orestes Water Works serves 400 people in Orestes, Indiana. It is a Local-owned system using Groundwater water sources with 175 service connections.
What type of violations does Orestes Water Works have? ▼
Orestes Water Works has 65 total violations: 0 health-based violations (MCL exceedances or treatment failures), 38 monitoring/reporting violations, and 0 treatment technique violations. Health-based violations indicate contaminant levels exceeded EPA safe limits.
Has PFAS been detected in Orestes Water Works water? ▼
No PFAS testing data is available for Orestes Water Works under the EPA's UCMR5 monitoring program.
What water source does Orestes Water Works use? ▼
Orestes Water Works 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.