Is Piegan Border Station water safe to drink?

Piegan Border Station (PWS ID: MT0003334) has 1081 recorded violations in the EPA SDWIS database. No PFAS contamination was detected in UCMR5 testing. EPA SDWIS lists this system's service population as 94 people using Surface Water sources.

How many people does Piegan Border Station serve?

EPA SDWIS reports that Piegan Border Station serves 94 people (this public water system's service population, not the municipal population of Helena or any other city). It is a Federal-owned system using Surface Water water sources with 21 service connections. The operator address is listed in Helena, Montana.

What type of violations does Piegan Border Station have?

Piegan Border Station has 1,081 total violations: 7 health-based violations (MCL exceedances or treatment failures), 1,053 monitoring/reporting violations, and 7 treatment technique violations. Health-based violations indicate contaminant levels exceeded EPA safe limits.

Has PFAS been detected in Piegan Border Station water?

No PFAS testing data is available for Piegan Border Station under the EPA's UCMR5 monitoring program.

What water source does Piegan Border Station use?

Piegan Border Station uses Surface Water 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.

How does Piegan Border Station's violation count compare nationally?

Piegan Border Station has 1,081 recorded EPA SDWIS violations, fewer than 1% of the 29,740 public water systems serving 500 or more people nationwide (the same sitemap cohort used for the corpus-placement ranking above). 99% of that cohort has fewer violations than Piegan Border Station. A system can have zero recorded violations and still be actively monitored, and a high violation count often reflects a system that reports thoroughly, not necessarily one with worse water.

States → Montana

Community Water System · PWS MT0003334

Piegan Border Station

Operator location Helena, Montana - smaller served population (≤ 999) at 94 people served; 1,081 SDWIS violations on record from surface water sources.

Compiled by PlainWater · May 15, 2026

94
People served (this PWS) Smaller third of systems: 1,081
EPA violations (this PWS) Upper third of systems: 7
Health-based (this PWS) Middle third by health-based share: Untested
UCMR5 (this PWS) No UCMR5 result

Follow published updates (RSS)

Piegan Border Station standing, high SDWIS violation third

94 people served (SDWIS) - smaller served population (≤ 999). Corpus terciles use 29,740 systems serving 500+ (the sitemap cohort). Health-based share 1% is middle-third health share (≤ 23%).

The verdict

Piegan Border Station sits in the upper third of the sitemap cohort by violation count (1,081), so the tables below sample a dense compliance trail rather than a near-clean ledger. Population served is smaller (94; smaller served population (≤ 999)), so each violation row represents a compact service footprint. Health-based share is 1% (middle-third health share (≤ 23%)). No UCMR5 PFAS test appears for this system in this extract.

1,081
Total EPA violations on record: 1%
Health-based (MCL / treatment failure): 94
People served by this PWS (SDWIS): N/A
PFAS compounds detected (UCMR5)

Population ordinals match the sitemap cohort (systems serving 500+, population_served DESC). See methodology · corpus placement.

Water Safety Score

19/100

Piegan Border Station

Based on EPA SDWIS violation history and UCMR5 PFAS testing only, not water taste, odor, infrastructure age, or contaminants outside the federally tracked set.

Health-based violations F

EPA SDWIS health-based violations on record (MCL, MRDL, treatment technique)

Monitoring & reporting violations F

1,074

Non-health SDWIS violations (monitoring, reporting, and other compliance)

PFAS contamination N/A

Not UCMR5-tested

Highest PFAS compound level detected in UCMR5 testing

System Details

System Type: Community
Owner Type: Federal
Connections: 21
County: Glacier
School/Daycare: No
MCL Violations: 0
Monitoring Violations: 1,053
Treatment Tech Violations: 7

Violation History

Contaminant violations recorded by EPA.

Contaminant	Category	Count	Latest
Surface Water Treatment Rule	MR	257	2012
TTHM	MR	34	2025
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)	MR	34	2025
Lead and Copper Rule	MR	28	2025
Coliform (TCR)	MR	24	2012
Combined Radium (-226 and -228)	MR	21	2012
Gross Alpha, Excl. Radon and U	MR	21	2012
Consumer Confidence Rule	Other	19	2022
Endrin	MR	18	2013
Methoxychlor	MR	18	2013
Di(2-ethylhexyl) adipate	MR	18	2013
OXAMYL	MR	18	2013
Simazine	MR	18	2013
Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate	MR	18	2013
Dinoseb	MR	18	2013
Aldicarb sulfone	MR	18	2013
Aldicarb	MR	18	2013
Atrazine	MR	18	2013
LASSO	MR	18	2013
Heptachlor epoxide	MR	18	2013
Chlordane	MR	18	2013
Dalapon	MR	18	2013
Picloram	MR	18	2013
Hexachlorocyclopentadiene	MR	18	2013
Aldicarb sulfoxide	MR	18	2013
Carbofuran	MR	18	2013
Heptachlor	MR	18	2013
2,4,5-TP	MR	18	2013
HEXACHLOROBENZENE	MR	18	2013
Benzo(a)pyrene	MR	18	2013

Violation Count vs. the National Corpus

Piegan Border Station has 1,081 recorded EPA violations, 99% of the 29,740 public water systems serving 500+ people nationwide carry fewer, and 1% carry more. 1% of this system's own violations are health-based (7 of 1,081), and it ranks unranked by population served among that same cohort.

EPA violations vs. the national water-system corpus

Public water systems serving 500+ people (EPA SDWIS)

1,081 Higher than most more violations than 99% of 29,740 water systems

the national water-system corpus, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more water systems. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source EPA SDWIS · 2026-05-15

How many violations vs. how serious, among peer systems

Piegan Border Station plotted against 29 peer public water systems (500+ people served), by total violation count (x) and the share of those violations that are health-based (y). The crosshair sits at this sample's own median on each axis. A high violation count does not automatically mean a serious record: most monitoring and reporting violations are minor, not health-based.

30 public water systems (500+ people served), EPA SDWIS current release.

How to read this

Each dot is one public water system; the highlighted dot is Piegan Border Station. A system to the right has more recorded violations; a system higher up has a larger share of those violations classified health-based rather than monitoring or reporting.

Rare but serious: few violations, but most of them are health-based.
Frequent, mostly paperwork: many violations, but mostly monitoring or reporting, not health-based.
Clean record: below-median on both counts, the tinted corner.

View all 30 systems as a list

City of Ballinger: 372 violations, 85% health-based
Nooksack Valley Water Association: 16 violations, 31% health-based
Montgomery Co RWD 12: 7 violations, 29% health-based
Irvin Water District #6: 11 violations, 27% health-based
Ticonderoga WD: 47 violations, 26% health-based
Pine Valley Plantation: 37 violations, 24% health-based
McLouth, City Of: 29 violations, 17% health-based
Kipling Oaks 1: 25 violations, 16% health-based
South Deerfield Water Supply District: 96 violations, 16% health-based
Sunset Ridge Water District: 82 violations, 15% health-based
Orange Water Dept: 136 violations, 14% health-based
Mount Pleasant Water Sys #1: 167 violations, 11% health-based
Lake Gibson Estates: 42 violations, 2% health-based
Benson Culinary Improvement District: 212 violations, 1% health-based
Conemaugh Twp Muni Auth: 567 violations, 1% health-based
Piegan Border Station: 1,081 violations, 1% health-based (this system)
Miccosukee Service Plaza: 0 violations, 0% health-based
Brazoria - Fort Bend Counties MUD 3: 0 violations, 0% health-based
Tanglewilde Thompson Place 600: 2 violations, 0% health-based
Center Water Co: 5 violations, 0% health-based
Spring Mills Elem School/Hvs: 9 violations, 0% health-based
Great Bend Industrial Park: 14 violations, 0% health-based
Glen Park Village: 19 violations, 0% health-based
Camp Is-Sho-Da: 22 violations, 0% health-based
Hamilton: 33 violations, 0% health-based
Town of Welaka: 54 violations, 0% health-based
Township of Blairstown Dpw: 61 violations, 0% health-based
McIntosh Water & Fire Pro Authority: 71 violations, 0% health-based
Clarkdale Municipal Water System: 114 violations, 0% health-based
Eureka Water Association: 273 violations, 0% health-based

Population served record for Piegan Border Station

EPA SDWIS lists 94 people served and 21 connections for this PWS, confirm the service-area footprint on the federal report before comparing to municipal census totals.

EPA SDWIS · PWS MT0003334

Sources: EPA SDWIS

Nationwide peers

1,081 violations · 94 served: nearest cross-state SDWIS matches.

Cross-state systems with comparable violation load

Nearest cross-state community systems (500+ served) by total SDWIS violations on record.

4 peers

What to do with Piegan Border Station

Use this system's EPA-reported record as a starting filter, not a final verdict.

See how every tracked system in Montana compares on the same EPA violation measures. Montana systems
Check whether PFAS was detected at this system under UCMR5 testing. PFAS guide
Find and compare another public water system by name or PWSID. Search systems

EPA SDWIS and UCMR5 figures are informational only, not a substitute for a certified lab test of your own tap water.

Data sourced from EPA SDWIS and UCMR5 PFAS monitoring data. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainWater

Compiled by PlainWater, Drinking Water Quality Editorial Process · May 15, 2026

Every figure on PlainWater is rendered directly from EPA SDWIS drinking-water data, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.