PlainWater

Elbow Lake

PWS ID: MN1260003 · Elbow Lake, Minnesota 56531

Elbow Lake serves 1,285 people in Elbow Lake, Minnesota using Groundwater water sources. It has 1 recorded EPA violations, including 0 health-based violations. No PFAS contamination was detected in UCMR5 testing.

Water Quality Snapshot: Elbow Lake

Elbow Lake is a local-owned community water system that delivers drinking water to 1,285 residents in Elbow Lake, Minnesota (Grant County) through 586 service connections. Its water is drawn from groundwater sources. EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System records 1 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.

No specific contaminant violations have been recorded in EPA's detailed violation register for this system. This system has not yet been sampled under EPA's UCMR5 PFAS monitoring program, so no PFAS detection data is available here.

Across Minnesota, EPA tracks 6,557 public water systems serving 5,239,398 people, with 59,895 cumulative violations and 36,496 health-based violations on record. About 52% of systems in the state carry at least one violation, and state-wide the average per system is 9.1 violations. Elbow Lake's 1 violations sit below the Minnesota average. Statewide, 149 of 196 UCMR5-tested systems have reported PFAS detections (76%). 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
1,285
Total Violations
1
Health-Based Violations
0
Water Source
Groundwater

System Details

System Type
Community
Owner Type
Local
Connections
586
County
Grant
School/Daycare
No
MCL Violations
0
Monitoring Violations
0
Treatment Tech Violations
0

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 Elbow Lake.

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 MN1260003 on SDWIS

Source: EPA SDWIS Federal Reports Search

State Regulator

Minnesota Drinking Water Authority

Minnesota's primacy agency administers the Safe Drinking Water Act locally. Search EPA SDWIS for the current state contact, or use the state's public health or environment department portal.

Find MN regulator via EPA SDWIS

How Elbow Lake Compares

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

Metric Elbow Lake Minnesota avg Federal benchmark
Total violations 1 9.1 SDWA compliance — any non-zero count is a recorded breach
Health-based violations 0 5.6 Indicates a contaminant exceeded a federal MCL
PFAS detection None 76% EPA final rule (2024): PFOA/PFOS MCL = 4.0 ppt
Population served 1,285 799 Sizing context for compliance burden

Sources: EPA SDWIS and EPA National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (40 CFR Part 141). State averages computed across 6,557 regulated public water systems in Minnesota.

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
Nitrate (as N) 10 mg/L Acute health risk for infants

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Elbow Lake water safe to drink?
Elbow Lake (PWS ID: MN1260003) has 1 recorded violations in the EPA SDWIS database. No PFAS contamination was detected in UCMR5 testing. This system serves 1,285 people using Groundwater sources.
How many people does Elbow Lake serve?
Elbow Lake serves 1,285 people in Elbow Lake, Minnesota. It is a Local-owned system using Groundwater water sources with 586 service connections.
What type of violations does Elbow Lake have?
Elbow Lake has 1 total violations: 0 health-based violations (MCL exceedances or treatment failures), 0 monitoring/reporting violations, and 0 treatment technique violations. Health-based violations indicate contaminant levels exceeded EPA safe limits.
Has PFAS been detected in Elbow Lake water?
No PFAS testing data is available for Elbow Lake under the EPA's UCMR5 monitoring program.
What water source does Elbow Lake use?
Elbow Lake 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.

Explore PlainWater

Data Sources: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), Q4 2025. This data is provided for informational purposes only.

Related

Data sourced from $official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by Kiznis Studio Editorial