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Community Water System · PWS ND5200169

Cathay City Of

Cathay, North Dakota 58422 - drinking water served from groundwater sources to 43 people, tracked in EPA SDWIS and UCMR5.

43
People served
154
EPA violations
48
Health-based
Untested
UCMR5 result

The verdict

EPA records 154 drinking-water violations at Cathay City Of, 31% of them health-based - above the North Dakota per-system average.

154
Total EPA violations on record
31%
Health-based (MCL / treatment failure)
43
People served by this system
N/A
PFAS compounds detected (UCMR5)

Water Quality Snapshot: Cathay City Of

Cathay City Of is a local-owned community water system that delivers drinking water to 43 residents in Cathay, North Dakota (Wells County) through 28 service connections. Its water is drawn from groundwater sources. EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System records 154 total violations for this system , of which 48 (31%) are health-based, meaning a contaminant exceeded an EPA Maximum Contaminant Level or a required treatment technique failed. A further 88 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 Chlorine, recorded in 34 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 North Dakota, EPA tracks 368 public water systems serving 712,349 people, with 13,624 cumulative violations and 2,673 health-based violations on record. About 94% of systems in the state carry at least one violation, and state-wide the average per system is 37 violations. Statewide, 34 of 38 UCMR5-tested systems have reported PFAS detections (89.5%).

Cathay City Of's 154 violations sit above the North Dakota 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
43
Total Violations
154
Health-Based Violations
48
Water Source
Groundwater

System Details

System Type
Community
Owner Type
Local
Connections
28
County
Wells
School/Daycare
No
MCL Violations
33
Monitoring Violations
88
Treatment Tech Violations
5

Violation History

Contaminant violations recorded by EPA.

Contaminant Category Count Latest
Chlorine MR 34 2024
Coliform (TCR) MR 28 2016
Coliform (TCR) MCL 25 2015
Lead and Copper Rule MR 15 2025
Revised Total Coliform Rule MON 11 2023
Chlorine MRDL 10 2011
Revised Total Coliform Rule MCL 8 2018
Public Notice Other 7 2024
LEAD AND COPPER RULE REVISIONS RPT 4 2024
LEAD AND COPPER RULE REVISIONS TT 4 2024
Consumer Confidence Rule Other 2 2024
Lead and Copper Rule TT 1 2025

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 Cathay City 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 ND5200169 on SDWIS

Source: EPA SDWIS Federal Reports Search

State Regulator

North Dakota Drinking Water Authority

North Dakota'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 ND 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 Lead and Copper Rule MR 15 SDWIS / ND5200169 / 5000
2025 Lead and Copper Rule TT 1 SDWIS / ND5200169 / 5000
2024 Chlorine MR 34 SDWIS / ND5200169 / 0999
2024 Public Notice Other 7 SDWIS / ND5200169 / 7500
2024 LEAD AND COPPER RULE REVISIONS RPT 4 SDWIS / ND5200169 / 5200
2024 LEAD AND COPPER RULE REVISIONS TT 4 SDWIS / ND5200169 / 5200
2024 Consumer Confidence Rule Other 2 SDWIS / ND5200169 / 7000
2023 Revised Total Coliform Rule MON 11 SDWIS / ND5200169 / 8000
2018 Revised Total Coliform Rule MCL 8 SDWIS / ND5200169 / 8000
2016 Coliform (TCR) MR 28 SDWIS / ND5200169 / 3100
2015 Coliform (TCR) MCL 25 SDWIS / ND5200169 / 3100
2011 Chlorine MRDL 10 SDWIS / ND5200169 / 0999

How Cathay City Of Compares

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

Metric Cathay City Of North Dakota avg Federal benchmark
Total violations 154 37 SDWA compliance, any non-zero count is a recorded breach
Health-based violations 48 7.3 Indicates a contaminant exceeded a federal MCL
PFAS detection None 89.5% EPA final rule (2024): PFOA/PFOS MCL = 4.0 ppt
Population served 43 1,936 Sizing context for compliance burden

Sources: EPA SDWIS and EPA National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (40 CFR Part 141). State averages computed across 368 regulated public water systems in North Dakota.

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 Cathay City Of water safe to drink? ▼
Cathay City Of (PWS ID: ND5200169) has 154 recorded violations in the EPA SDWIS database. No PFAS contamination was detected in UCMR5 testing. This system serves 43 people using Groundwater sources.
How many people does Cathay City Of serve? ▼
Cathay City Of serves 43 people in Cathay, North Dakota. It is a Local-owned system using Groundwater water sources with 28 service connections.
What type of violations does Cathay City Of have? ▼
Cathay City Of has 154 total violations: 48 health-based violations (MCL exceedances or treatment failures), 88 monitoring/reporting violations, and 5 treatment technique violations. Health-based violations indicate contaminant levels exceeded EPA safe limits.
Has PFAS been detected in Cathay City Of water? ▼
No PFAS testing data is available for Cathay City Of under the EPA's UCMR5 monitoring program.
What water source does Cathay City Of use? ▼
Cathay City 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.