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Community Water System · PWS MT0003103

Ponderilla Hills Lake County Water Sewer

Polson, Montana 59860 - drinking water served from groundwater sources to 35 people, tracked in EPA SDWIS and UCMR5.

35
People served
74
EPA violations
52
Health-based
Untested
UCMR5 result

The verdict

EPA records 74 drinking-water violations at Ponderilla Hills Lake County Water Sewer, 70% of them health-based - below the Montana per-system average.

74
Total EPA violations on record
70%
Health-based (MCL / treatment failure)
35
People served by this system
N/A
PFAS compounds detected (UCMR5)

Water Quality Snapshot: Ponderilla Hills Lake County Water Sewer

Ponderilla Hills Lake County Water Sewer is a local-owned community water system that delivers drinking water to 35 residents in Polson, Montana (Lake County) through 17 service connections. Its water is drawn from groundwater sources. EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System records 74 total violations for this system , of which 52 (70%) are health-based, meaning a contaminant exceeded an EPA Maximum Contaminant Level or a required treatment technique failed. A further 20 monitoring and reporting violations are on file. The most recent violation on record dates to 2023.

The most frequently cited contaminant at this system is Coliform (TCR), recorded in 52 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, 5 of 45 UCMR5-tested systems have reported PFAS detections (11.1%).

Ponderilla Hills Lake County Water Sewer's 74 violations sit below 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
35
Total Violations
74
Health-Based Violations
52
Water Source
Groundwater

System Details

System Type
Community
Owner Type
Local
Connections
17
County
Lake
School/Daycare
No
MCL Violations
52
Monitoring Violations
20
Treatment Tech Violations
0

Violation History

Contaminant violations recorded by EPA.

Contaminant Category Count Latest
Coliform (TCR) MCL 52 2009
E. COLI MR 12 2012
Revised Total Coliform Rule MON 3 2020
Nitrate-Nitrite MR 3 2008
Coliform (TCR) MR 2 1994
Consumer Confidence Rule Other 2 2023

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 Ponderilla Hills Lake County Water Sewer.

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 MT0003103 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
2023 Consumer Confidence Rule Other 2 SDWIS / MT0003103 / 7000
2020 Revised Total Coliform Rule MON 3 SDWIS / MT0003103 / 8000
2012 E. COLI MR 12 SDWIS / MT0003103 / 3014
2009 Coliform (TCR) MCL 52 SDWIS / MT0003103 / 3100
2008 Nitrate-Nitrite MR 3 SDWIS / MT0003103 / 1038
1994 Coliform (TCR) MR 2 SDWIS / MT0003103 / 3100

How Ponderilla Hills Lake County Water Sewer Compares

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

Metric Ponderilla Hills Lake County Water Sewer Montana avg Federal benchmark
Total violations 74 131.4 SDWA compliance, any non-zero count is a recorded breach
Health-based violations 52 11.5 Indicates a contaminant exceeded a federal MCL
PFAS detection None 11.1% EPA final rule (2024): PFOA/PFOS MCL = 4.0 ppt
Population served 35 492 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 Ponderilla Hills Lake County Water Sewer water safe to drink? ▼
Ponderilla Hills Lake County Water Sewer (PWS ID: MT0003103) has 74 recorded violations in the EPA SDWIS database. No PFAS contamination was detected in UCMR5 testing. This system serves 35 people using Groundwater sources.
How many people does Ponderilla Hills Lake County Water Sewer serve? ▼
Ponderilla Hills Lake County Water Sewer serves 35 people in Polson, Montana. It is a Local-owned system using Groundwater water sources with 17 service connections.
What type of violations does Ponderilla Hills Lake County Water Sewer have? ▼
Ponderilla Hills Lake County Water Sewer has 74 total violations: 52 health-based violations (MCL exceedances or treatment failures), 20 monitoring/reporting violations, and 0 treatment technique violations. Health-based violations indicate contaminant levels exceeded EPA safe limits.
Has PFAS been detected in Ponderilla Hills Lake County Water Sewer water? ▼
No PFAS testing data is available for Ponderilla Hills Lake County Water Sewer under the EPA's UCMR5 monitoring program.
What water source does Ponderilla Hills Lake County Water Sewer use? ▼
Ponderilla Hills Lake County Water Sewer 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.