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Community Water System · PWS MT0000063

Bearcreek Municipal Water Sys

Red Lodge, Montana 59068 - drinking water served from groundwater sources to 200 people, tracked in EPA SDWIS and UCMR5.

200
People served
1,555
EPA violations
20
Health-based
Untested
UCMR5 result

The verdict

EPA records 1,555 drinking-water violations at Bearcreek Municipal Water Sys, 1% of them health-based - above the Montana per-system average.

1,555
Total EPA violations on record
1%
Health-based (MCL / treatment failure)
200
People served by this system
N/A
PFAS compounds detected (UCMR5)

Water Quality Snapshot: Bearcreek Municipal Water Sys

Bearcreek Municipal Water Sys is a local-owned community water system that delivers drinking water to 200 residents in Red Lodge, Montana (Carbon County) through 70 service connections. Its water is drawn from groundwater sources. EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System records 1,555 total violations for this system , of which 20 (1%) are health-based, meaning a contaminant exceeded an EPA Maximum Contaminant Level or a required treatment technique failed. A further 1,525 monitoring and reporting violations are on file. The most recent violation on record dates to 2022.

The most frequently cited contaminant at this system is BHC-GAMMA, recorded in 32 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 Montana, EPA tracks 2,263 public water systems serving 1,112,267 people, with 297,270 cumulative violations and 25,922 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 131.4 violations. Statewide, 28 of 45 UCMR5-tested systems have reported PFAS detections (62.2%).

Bearcreek Municipal Water Sys's 1,555 violations sit above the Montana 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
200
Total Violations
1,555
Health-Based Violations
20
Water Source
Groundwater

System Details

System Type
Community
Owner Type
Local
Connections
70
County
Carbon
School/Daycare
No
MCL Violations
20
Monitoring Violations
1,525
Treatment Tech Violations
0

Violation History

Contaminant violations recorded by EPA.

Contaminant Category Count Latest
BHC-GAMMA MR 32 2020
Methoxychlor MR 32 2020
Toxaphene MR 32 2020
Dalapon MR 32 2020
OXAMYL MR 32 2020
Simazine MR 32 2020
Picloram MR 32 2020
Hexachlorocyclopentadiene MR 32 2020
Atrazine MR 32 2020
2,4-D MR 32 2020
2,4,5-TP MR 32 2020
HEXACHLOROBENZENE MR 32 2020
Benzo(a)pyrene MR 32 2020
Pentachlorophenol MR 32 2020
Chlordane MR 32 2020
Endrin MR 32 2020
Di(2-ethylhexyl) adipate MR 32 2020
Dinoseb MR 32 2020
Heptachlor MR 32 2020
Heptachlor epoxide MR 32 2020
Carbofuran MR 32 2020
LASSO MR 32 2020
Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate MR 32 2020
1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene MR 30 2020
cis-1,2-Dichloroethylene MR 30 2020
Xylenes, Total MR 30 2020
DICHLOROMETHANE MR 30 2020
p-Dichlorobenzene MR 30 2020
Vinyl chloride MR 30 2020
trans-1,2-Dichloroethylene MR 30 2020

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 Bearcreek Municipal Water Sys.

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 MT0000063 on SDWIS

Source: EPA SDWIS Federal Reports Search

State Regulator

Montana Drinking Water Authority

Montana'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 MT regulator via EPA SDWIS

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
2022 Groundwater Rule MR 7 SDWIS / MT0000063 / 0700
2020 BHC-GAMMA MR 32 SDWIS / MT0000063 / 2010
2020 Methoxychlor MR 32 SDWIS / MT0000063 / 2015
2020 Toxaphene MR 32 SDWIS / MT0000063 / 2020
2020 Dalapon MR 32 SDWIS / MT0000063 / 2031
2020 OXAMYL MR 32 SDWIS / MT0000063 / 2036
2020 Simazine MR 32 SDWIS / MT0000063 / 2037
2020 Picloram MR 32 SDWIS / MT0000063 / 2040
2020 Hexachlorocyclopentadiene MR 32 SDWIS / MT0000063 / 2042
2020 Atrazine MR 32 SDWIS / MT0000063 / 2050
2020 2,4-D MR 32 SDWIS / MT0000063 / 2105
2020 2,4,5-TP MR 32 SDWIS / MT0000063 / 2110
2020 HEXACHLOROBENZENE MR 32 SDWIS / MT0000063 / 2274
2020 Benzo(a)pyrene MR 32 SDWIS / MT0000063 / 2306
2020 Pentachlorophenol MR 32 SDWIS / MT0000063 / 2326

How Bearcreek Municipal Water Sys Compares

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

Metric Bearcreek Municipal Water Sys Montana avg Federal benchmark
Total violations 1,555 131.4 SDWA compliance, any non-zero count is a recorded breach
Health-based violations 20 11.5 Indicates a contaminant exceeded a federal MCL
PFAS detection None 62.2% EPA final rule (2024): PFOA/PFOS MCL = 4.0 ppt
Population served 200 492 Sizing context for compliance burden

Sources: EPA SDWIS and EPA National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (40 CFR Part 141). State averages computed across 2,263 regulated public water systems in Montana.

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 Bearcreek Municipal Water Sys water safe to drink? ▼
Bearcreek Municipal Water Sys (PWS ID: MT0000063) has 1555 recorded violations in the EPA SDWIS database. No PFAS contamination was detected in UCMR5 testing. This system serves 200 people using Groundwater sources.
How many people does Bearcreek Municipal Water Sys serve? ▼
Bearcreek Municipal Water Sys serves 200 people in Red Lodge, Montana. It is a Local-owned system using Groundwater water sources with 70 service connections.
What type of violations does Bearcreek Municipal Water Sys have? ▼
Bearcreek Municipal Water Sys has 1,555 total violations: 20 health-based violations (MCL exceedances or treatment failures), 1,525 monitoring/reporting violations, and 0 treatment technique violations. Health-based violations indicate contaminant levels exceeded EPA safe limits.
Has PFAS been detected in Bearcreek Municipal Water Sys water? ▼
No PFAS testing data is available for Bearcreek Municipal Water Sys under the EPA's UCMR5 monitoring program.
What water source does Bearcreek Municipal Water Sys use? ▼
Bearcreek Municipal Water Sys 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.