Community Water System · PWS WA5324881
Steptoe Water/Sewer District
Operator location Colfax, Washington - smaller served population (≤ 999) at 210 people served; 292 SDWIS violations on record from groundwater sources.
- 210
- People served (this PWS) Smaller third of systems
- 292
- EPA violations (this PWS) Upper third of systems
- 5
- Health-based (this PWS) Middle third by health-based share
- Untested
- UCMR5 (this PWS) No UCMR5 result
Steptoe Water/Sewer District standing, high SDWIS violation third
210 people served (SDWIS) - smaller served population (≤ 999). Corpus terciles use 29,740 systems serving 500+ (the sitemap cohort). Health-based share 2% is middle-third health share (≤ 23%).
The verdict
Steptoe Water/Sewer District sits in the upper third of the sitemap cohort by violation count (292), so the tables below sample a dense compliance trail rather than a near-clean ledger. Population served is smaller (210; smaller served population (≤ 999)), so each violation row represents a compact service footprint. Health-based share is 2% (middle-third health share (≤ 23%)). No UCMR5 PFAS test appears for this system in this extract.
- 292
- Total EPA violations on record
- 2%
- Health-based (MCL / treatment failure)
- 210
- 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.
Based on EPA SDWIS violation history and UCMR5 PFAS testing only, not water taste, odor, infrastructure age, or contaminants outside the federally tracked set.
System Details
- System Type
- Community
- Owner Type
- Local
- Connections
- 91
- County
- Whitman
- School/Daycare
- No
- MCL Violations
- 5
- Monitoring Violations
- 281
- Treatment Tech Violations
- 0
Violation History
Contaminant violations recorded by EPA.
| Contaminant | Category | Count | Latest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lead and Copper Rule | MR | 12 | 2006 |
| 1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene | MR | 11 | 2006 |
| Vinyl chloride | MR | 11 | 2006 |
| trans-1,2-Dichloroethylene | MR | 11 | 2006 |
| 1,2-Dichloroethane | MR | 11 | 2006 |
| Carbon tetrachloride | MR | 11 | 2006 |
| 1,2-Dichloropropane | MR | 11 | 2006 |
| Trichloroethylene | MR | 11 | 2006 |
| 1,1,2-Trichloroethane | MR | 11 | 2006 |
| Tetrachloroethylene | MR | 11 | 2006 |
| Benzene | MR | 11 | 2006 |
| Styrene | MR | 11 | 2006 |
| cis-1,2-Dichloroethylene | MR | 11 | 2006 |
| DICHLOROMETHANE | MR | 11 | 2006 |
| 1,1,1-Trichloroethane | MR | 11 | 2006 |
| CHLOROBENZENE | MR | 11 | 2006 |
| Ethylbenzene | MR | 11 | 2006 |
| Coliform (TCR) | MR | 11 | 2015 |
| Toluene | MR | 11 | 2006 |
| o-Dichlorobenzene | MR | 11 | 2006 |
| 1,1-Dichloroethylene | MR | 11 | 2006 |
| p-Dichlorobenzene | MR | 11 | 2006 |
| Nitrate | MR | 8 | 2023 |
| Coliform (TCR) | MCL | 5 | 1997 |
| Consumer Confidence Rule | Other | 4 | 2015 |
| Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) | MR | 2 | 2021 |
| Pentachlorophenol | MR | 2 | 2002 |
| TTHM | MR | 2 | 2021 |
| 2,4,5-TP | MR | 1 | 2002 |
| Atrazine | MR | 1 | 2002 |
Violation Count vs. the National Corpus
Steptoe Water/Sewer District has 292 recorded EPA violations, 91% of the 29,740 public water systems serving 500+ people nationwide carry fewer, and 9% carry more. 2% of this system's own violations are health-based (5 of 292), 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)
292 Higher than most more violations than 91% 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
Steptoe Water/Sewer District 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.
Violation volume vs. health-based share
Population served record for Steptoe Water/Sewer District
EPA SDWIS lists 210 people served and 91 connections for this PWS, confirm the service-area footprint on the federal report before comparing to municipal census totals.
Sources: EPA SDWIS · Washington State Department of Health, Office of Drinking Water
Nationwide peers
292 violations · 210 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.
What to do with Steptoe Water/Sewer District
Use this system's EPA-reported record as a starting filter, not a final verdict.
- See how every tracked system in Washington compares on the same EPA violation measures. Washington 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.
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.