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Community Water System · PWS MA1113017

Bard College at Simons Rock

Great Barrington, Massachusetts 01230 - drinking water served from groundwater sources to 500 people, tracked in EPA SDWIS and UCMR5.

500
People served
18
EPA violations
9
Health-based
Untested
UCMR5 result

The verdict

EPA records 18 drinking-water violations at Bard College at Simons Rock, 50% of them health-based - below the Massachusetts per-system average.

18
Total EPA violations on record
50%
Health-based (MCL / treatment failure)
500
People served by this system
N/A
PFAS compounds detected (UCMR5)

Water Quality Snapshot: Bard College at Simons Rock

Bard College at Simons Rock is a private-owned community water system that delivers drinking water to 500 residents in Great Barrington, Massachusetts (Berkshire County) through 20 service connections. Its water is drawn from groundwater sources. EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System records 18 total violations for this system , of which 9 (50%) are health-based, meaning a contaminant exceeded an EPA Maximum Contaminant Level or a required treatment technique failed. A further 2 monitoring and reporting violations are on file. The most recent violation on record dates to 2015.

The most frequently cited contaminant at this system is Coliform (TCR), recorded in 7 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 Massachusetts, EPA tracks 1,599 public water systems serving 10,332,845 people, with 73,886 cumulative violations and 7,389 health-based violations on record. About 95% of systems in the state carry at least one violation, and state-wide the average per system is 46.2 violations. Statewide, 148 of 263 UCMR5-tested systems have reported PFAS detections (56.3%).

Bard College at Simons Rock's 18 violations sit below the Massachusetts 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
500
Total Violations
18
Health-Based Violations
9
Water Source
Groundwater

System Details

System Type
Community
Owner Type
Private
Connections
20
County
Berkshire
School/Daycare
Yes
MCL Violations
7
Monitoring Violations
2
Treatment Tech Violations
2

Violation History

Contaminant violations recorded by EPA.

Contaminant Category Count Latest
Coliform (TCR) MCL 7 2014
Groundwater Rule Other 2 2015
Groundwater Rule TT 2 2015
Public Notice Other 2 2012
Asbestos MR 1 1997
Nitrate MR 1 1996

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 Bard College at Simons Rock.

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 MA1113017 on SDWIS

Source: EPA SDWIS Federal Reports Search

State Regulator

Massachusetts Drinking Water Authority

MassDEP, Drinking Water Program is the primacy agency that licenses and inspects Bard College at Simons Rock under EPA-delegated authority.

Open MA regulator portal

Source: MassDEP, Drinking Water Program

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
2015 Groundwater Rule Other 2 SDWIS / MA1113017 / 0700
2015 Groundwater Rule TT 2 SDWIS / MA1113017 / 0700
2014 Coliform (TCR) MCL 7 SDWIS / MA1113017 / 3100
2012 Public Notice Other 2 SDWIS / MA1113017 / 7500
1997 Asbestos MR 1 SDWIS / MA1113017 / 1094
1996 Nitrate MR 1 SDWIS / MA1113017 / 1040

How Bard College at Simons Rock Compares

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

Metric Bard College at Simons Rock Massachusetts avg Federal benchmark
Total violations 18 46.2 SDWA compliance, any non-zero count is a recorded breach
Health-based violations 9 4.6 Indicates a contaminant exceeded a federal MCL
PFAS detection None 56.3% EPA final rule (2024): PFOA/PFOS MCL = 4.0 ppt
Population served 500 6,462 Sizing context for compliance burden

Sources: EPA SDWIS and EPA National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (40 CFR Part 141). State averages computed across 1,599 regulated public water systems in Massachusetts.

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 Bard College at Simons Rock water safe to drink? ▼
Bard College at Simons Rock (PWS ID: MA1113017) has 18 recorded violations in the EPA SDWIS database. No PFAS contamination was detected in UCMR5 testing. This system serves 500 people using Groundwater sources.
How many people does Bard College at Simons Rock serve? ▼
Bard College at Simons Rock serves 500 people in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. It is a Private-owned system using Groundwater water sources with 20 service connections.
What type of violations does Bard College at Simons Rock have? ▼
Bard College at Simons Rock has 18 total violations: 9 health-based violations (MCL exceedances or treatment failures), 2 monitoring/reporting violations, and 2 treatment technique violations. Health-based violations indicate contaminant levels exceeded EPA safe limits.
Has PFAS been detected in Bard College at Simons Rock water? ▼
No PFAS testing data is available for Bard College at Simons Rock under the EPA's UCMR5 monitoring program.
What water source does Bard College at Simons Rock use? ▼
Bard College at Simons Rock 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.