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Community Water System · PWS WA5334050

Hood Canal

Shelton, Washington 98584 - drinking water served from groundwater sources to 368 people, tracked in EPA SDWIS and UCMR5.

368
People served
50
EPA violations
13
Health-based
Untested
UCMR5 result

The verdict

EPA records 50 drinking-water violations at Hood Canal, 26% of them health-based - below the Washington per-system average.

50
Total EPA violations on record
26%
Health-based (MCL / treatment failure)
368
People served by this system
N/A
PFAS compounds detected (UCMR5)

Water Quality Snapshot: Hood Canal

Hood Canal is a local-owned community water system that delivers drinking water to 368 residents in Shelton, Washington (Mason County) through 132 service connections. Its water is drawn from groundwater sources. EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System records 50 total violations for this system , of which 13 (26%) are health-based, meaning a contaminant exceeded an EPA Maximum Contaminant Level or a required treatment technique failed. A further 32 monitoring and reporting violations are on file. The most recent violation on record dates to 2005.

The most frequently cited contaminant at this system is Coliform (TCR), recorded in 22 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 Washington, EPA tracks 4,557 public water systems serving 9,736,844 people, with 314,648 cumulative violations and 20,590 health-based violations on record. About 92% of systems in the state carry at least one violation, and state-wide the average per system is 69 violations. Statewide, 98 of 247 UCMR5-tested systems have reported PFAS detections (39.7%).

Hood Canal's 50 violations sit below the Washington 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
368
Total Violations
50
Health-Based Violations
13
Water Source
Groundwater

System Details

System Type
Community
Owner Type
Local
Connections
132
County
Mason
School/Daycare
No
MCL Violations
13
Monitoring Violations
32
Treatment Tech Violations
0

Violation History

Contaminant violations recorded by EPA.

Contaminant Category Count Latest
Coliform (TCR) MR 22 1993
Coliform (TCR) MCL 13 2005
Cadmium MR 1 1979
Fluoride MR 1 1979
Chromium MR 1 1979
Nitrate MR 1 1979
Gross Alpha, Excl. Radon and U MR 1 1979
Barium MR 1 1979
Mercury MR 1 1979
Lead and Copper Rule MR 1 1997
Selenium MR 1 1979
Arsenic MR 1 1979

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 Hood Canal.

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 WA5334050 on SDWIS

Source: EPA SDWIS Federal Reports Search

State Regulator

Washington Drinking Water Authority

Washington State Department of Health, Office of Drinking Water is the primacy agency that licenses and inspects Hood Canal under EPA-delegated authority.

Open WA regulator portal

Source: Washington State Department of Health, Office of Drinking Water

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
2005 Coliform (TCR) MCL 13 SDWIS / WA5334050 / 3100
1997 Lead and Copper Rule MR 1 SDWIS / WA5334050 / 5000
1993 Coliform (TCR) MR 22 SDWIS / WA5334050 / 3100
1979 Cadmium MR 1 SDWIS / WA5334050 / 1015
1979 Fluoride MR 1 SDWIS / WA5334050 / 1025
1979 Chromium MR 1 SDWIS / WA5334050 / 1020
1979 Nitrate MR 1 SDWIS / WA5334050 / 1040
1979 Gross Alpha, Excl. Radon and U MR 1 SDWIS / WA5334050 / 4000
1979 Barium MR 1 SDWIS / WA5334050 / 1010
1979 Mercury MR 1 SDWIS / WA5334050 / 1035
1979 Selenium MR 1 SDWIS / WA5334050 / 1045
1979 Arsenic MR 1 SDWIS / WA5334050 / 1005

How Hood Canal Compares

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

Metric Hood Canal Washington avg Federal benchmark
Total violations 50 69 SDWA compliance, any non-zero count is a recorded breach
Health-based violations 13 4.5 Indicates a contaminant exceeded a federal MCL
PFAS detection None 39.7% EPA final rule (2024): PFOA/PFOS MCL = 4.0 ppt
Population served 368 2,137 Sizing context for compliance burden

Sources: EPA SDWIS and EPA National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (40 CFR Part 141). State averages computed across 4,557 regulated public water systems in Washington.

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 Hood Canal water safe to drink? ▼
Hood Canal (PWS ID: WA5334050) has 50 recorded violations in the EPA SDWIS database. No PFAS contamination was detected in UCMR5 testing. This system serves 368 people using Groundwater sources.
How many people does Hood Canal serve? ▼
Hood Canal serves 368 people in Shelton, Washington. It is a Local-owned system using Groundwater water sources with 132 service connections.
What type of violations does Hood Canal have? ▼
Hood Canal has 50 total violations: 13 health-based violations (MCL exceedances or treatment failures), 32 monitoring/reporting violations, and 0 treatment technique violations. Health-based violations indicate contaminant levels exceeded EPA safe limits.
Has PFAS been detected in Hood Canal water? ▼
No PFAS testing data is available for Hood Canal under the EPA's UCMR5 monitoring program.
What water source does Hood Canal use? ▼
Hood Canal 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.