PlainWater
States → Montana

Community Water System · PWS MT0000325

Sand Coulee Water Users District

Sand Coulee, Montana 59472 - drinking water served from groundwater sources to 180 people, tracked in EPA SDWIS and UCMR5.

180
People served
1,072
EPA violations
42
Health-based
Untested
UCMR5 result

The verdict

EPA records 1,072 drinking-water violations at Sand Coulee Water Users District, 4% of them health-based - above the Montana per-system average.

1,072
Total EPA violations on record
4%
Health-based (MCL / treatment failure)
180
People served by this system
N/A
PFAS compounds detected (UCMR5)

Water Quality Snapshot: Sand Coulee Water Users District

Sand Coulee Water Users District is a local-owned community water system that delivers drinking water to 180 residents in Sand Coulee, Montana (Cascade County) through 76 service connections. Its water is drawn from groundwater sources. EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System records 1,072 total violations for this system , of which 42 (4%) are health-based, meaning a contaminant exceeded an EPA Maximum Contaminant Level or a required treatment technique failed. A further 1,026 monitoring and reporting violations are on file. The most recent violation on record dates to 2024.

The most frequently cited contaminant at this system is Coliform (TCR), recorded in 38 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 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%).

Sand Coulee Water Users District's 1,072 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
180
Total Violations
1,072
Health-Based Violations
42
Water Source
Groundwater

System Details

System Type
Community
Owner Type
Local
Connections
76
County
Cascade
School/Daycare
No
MCL Violations
38
Monitoring Violations
1,026
Treatment Tech Violations
4

Violation History

Contaminant violations recorded by EPA.

Contaminant Category Count Latest
Coliform (TCR) MCL 38 2015
Combined Radium (-226 and -228) MR 35 2018
Gross Alpha, Excl. Radon and U MR 33 2018
Endrin MR 27 2017
BHC-GAMMA MR 27 2017
Methoxychlor MR 27 2017
Toxaphene MR 27 2017
Dalapon MR 27 2017
Di(2-ethylhexyl) adipate MR 27 2017
OXAMYL MR 27 2017
Picloram MR 27 2017
Dinoseb MR 27 2017
Hexachlorocyclopentadiene MR 27 2017
Carbofuran MR 27 2017
Atrazine MR 27 2017
Heptachlor MR 27 2017
2,4-D MR 27 2017
HEXACHLOROBENZENE MR 27 2017
Pentachlorophenol MR 27 2017
Simazine MR 27 2017
LASSO MR 27 2017
Benzo(a)pyrene MR 27 2017
Chlordane MR 27 2017
Heptachlor epoxide MR 27 2017
2,4,5-TP MR 27 2017
Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate MR 27 2017
Aldicarb sulfoxide MR 24 2014
Aldicarb sulfone MR 24 2014
Aldicarb MR 24 2014
Lead and Copper Rule MR 14 2024

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 Sand Coulee Water Users District.

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 MT0000325 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
2024 Lead and Copper Rule MR 14 SDWIS / MT0000325 / 5000
2024 Consumer Confidence Rule Other 2 SDWIS / MT0000325 / 7000
2023 Groundwater Rule TT 4 SDWIS / MT0000325 / 0700
2018 Combined Radium (-226 and -228) MR 35 SDWIS / MT0000325 / 4010
2018 Gross Alpha, Excl. Radon and U MR 33 SDWIS / MT0000325 / 4000
2018 E. COLI MR 6 SDWIS / MT0000325 / 3014
2017 Endrin MR 27 SDWIS / MT0000325 / 2005
2017 BHC-GAMMA MR 27 SDWIS / MT0000325 / 2010
2017 Methoxychlor MR 27 SDWIS / MT0000325 / 2015
2017 Toxaphene MR 27 SDWIS / MT0000325 / 2020
2017 Dalapon MR 27 SDWIS / MT0000325 / 2031
2017 Di(2-ethylhexyl) adipate MR 27 SDWIS / MT0000325 / 2035
2017 OXAMYL MR 27 SDWIS / MT0000325 / 2036
2017 Picloram MR 27 SDWIS / MT0000325 / 2040
2017 Dinoseb MR 27 SDWIS / MT0000325 / 2041

How Sand Coulee Water Users District Compares

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

Metric Sand Coulee Water Users District Montana avg Federal benchmark
Total violations 1,072 131.4 SDWA compliance, any non-zero count is a recorded breach
Health-based violations 42 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 180 492 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 Sand Coulee Water Users District water safe to drink? ▼
Sand Coulee Water Users District (PWS ID: MT0000325) has 1072 recorded violations in the EPA SDWIS database. No PFAS contamination was detected in UCMR5 testing. This system serves 180 people using Groundwater sources.
How many people does Sand Coulee Water Users District serve? ▼
Sand Coulee Water Users District serves 180 people in Sand Coulee, Montana. It is a Local-owned system using Groundwater water sources with 76 service connections.
What type of violations does Sand Coulee Water Users District have? ▼
Sand Coulee Water Users District has 1,072 total violations: 42 health-based violations (MCL exceedances or treatment failures), 1,026 monitoring/reporting violations, and 4 treatment technique violations. Health-based violations indicate contaminant levels exceeded EPA safe limits.
Has PFAS been detected in Sand Coulee Water Users District water? ▼
No PFAS testing data is available for Sand Coulee Water Users District under the EPA's UCMR5 monitoring program.
What water source does Sand Coulee Water Users District use? ▼
Sand Coulee Water Users District 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.