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Community Water System · PWS MT0000305

Plains Town Of

Plains, Montana 59859 - drinking water served from groundwater sources to 1,700 people, tracked in EPA SDWIS and UCMR5.

1,700
People served
373
EPA violations
0
Health-based
Untested
UCMR5 result

The verdict

EPA records 373 drinking-water violations at Plains Town Of - above the Montana per-system average.

373
Total EPA violations on record
0%
Health-based (MCL / treatment failure)
1,700
People served by this system
N/A
PFAS compounds detected (UCMR5)

Water Quality Snapshot: Plains Town Of

Plains Town Of is a local-owned community water system that delivers drinking water to 1,700 residents in Plains, Montana (Sanders County) through 649 service connections. Its water is drawn from groundwater sources. EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System records 373 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 373 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 Nitrate-Nitrite, recorded in 6 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%).

Plains Town Of's 373 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
1,700
Total Violations
373
Health-Based Violations
0
Water Source
Groundwater

System Details

System Type
Community
Owner Type
Local
Connections
649
County
Sanders
School/Daycare
No
MCL Violations
0
Monitoring Violations
373
Treatment Tech Violations
0

Violation History

Contaminant violations recorded by EPA.

Contaminant Category Count Latest
Nitrate-Nitrite MR 6 2001
cis-1,2-Dichloroethylene MR 6 1999
Vinyl chloride MR 6 1999
Carbon tetrachloride MR 6 1999
Trichloroethylene MR 6 1999
1,1,2-Trichloroethane MR 6 1999
Benzene MR 6 1999
1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene MR 6 1999
Xylenes, Total MR 6 1999
DICHLOROMETHANE MR 6 1999
p-Dichlorobenzene MR 6 1999
1,1-Dichloroethylene MR 6 1999
trans-1,2-Dichloroethylene MR 6 1999
1,2-Dichloroethane MR 6 1999
1,1,1-Trichloroethane MR 6 1999
1,2-Dichloropropane MR 6 1999
CHLOROBENZENE MR 6 1999
Toluene MR 6 1999
BHC-GAMMA MR 6 1999
Toxaphene MR 6 1999
Dalapon MR 6 1999
OXAMYL MR 6 1999
Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate MR 6 1999
Dinoseb MR 6 1999
Hexachlorocyclopentadiene MR 6 1999
Aldicarb sulfoxide MR 6 1999
Aldicarb sulfone MR 6 1999
Carbofuran MR 6 1999
Aldicarb MR 6 1999
Heptachlor epoxide MR 6 1999

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 Plains Town Of.

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 MT0000305 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
2025 TTHM MR 2 SDWIS / MT0000305 / 2950
2025 Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) MR 2 SDWIS / MT0000305 / 2456
2006 Coliform (TCR) MR 6 SDWIS / MT0000305 / 3100
2001 Nitrate-Nitrite MR 6 SDWIS / MT0000305 / 1038
1999 cis-1,2-Dichloroethylene MR 6 SDWIS / MT0000305 / 2380
1999 Vinyl chloride MR 6 SDWIS / MT0000305 / 2976
1999 Carbon tetrachloride MR 6 SDWIS / MT0000305 / 2982
1999 Trichloroethylene MR 6 SDWIS / MT0000305 / 2984
1999 1,1,2-Trichloroethane MR 6 SDWIS / MT0000305 / 2985
1999 Benzene MR 6 SDWIS / MT0000305 / 2990
1999 1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene MR 6 SDWIS / MT0000305 / 2378
1999 Xylenes, Total MR 6 SDWIS / MT0000305 / 2955
1999 DICHLOROMETHANE MR 6 SDWIS / MT0000305 / 2964
1999 p-Dichlorobenzene MR 6 SDWIS / MT0000305 / 2969
1999 1,1-Dichloroethylene MR 6 SDWIS / MT0000305 / 2977

How Plains Town Of Compares

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

Metric Plains Town Of Montana avg Federal benchmark
Total violations 373 131.4 SDWA compliance, any non-zero count is a recorded breach
Health-based violations 0 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 1,700 492 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 Plains Town Of water safe to drink? ▼
Plains Town Of (PWS ID: MT0000305) has 373 recorded violations in the EPA SDWIS database. No PFAS contamination was detected in UCMR5 testing. This system serves 1,700 people using Groundwater sources.
How many people does Plains Town Of serve? ▼
Plains Town Of serves 1,700 people in Plains, Montana. It is a Local-owned system using Groundwater water sources with 649 service connections.
What type of violations does Plains Town Of have? ▼
Plains Town Of has 373 total violations: 0 health-based violations (MCL exceedances or treatment failures), 373 monitoring/reporting violations, and 0 treatment technique violations. Health-based violations indicate contaminant levels exceeded EPA safe limits.
Has PFAS been detected in Plains Town Of water? ▼
No PFAS testing data is available for Plains Town Of under the EPA's UCMR5 monitoring program.
What water source does Plains Town Of use? ▼
Plains Town Of 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.