Is Portage Waterworks Tap Water Safe? Quality Report

Water source: Ground water
Ownership: Local government
Counties served: Columbia

Compliance record

Formal violations the EPA has on file for this supplier. A health-based violation means a contaminant limit or a required treatment was breached; the rest are monitoring or reporting failures — still violations, but not a measured health risk.

health-based violations

137

violations on file

still open

Violation	Type	Status	Period
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2003-12-01 → 2003-12-31
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2003-12-01 → 2003-12-31
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2003-12-01 → 2003-12-31
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2003-12-01 → 2003-12-31
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2003-12-01 → 2003-12-31
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2001-04-01 → 2001-04-30
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2001-04-01 → 2001-04-30
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2001-04-01 → 2001-04-30
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2001-04-01 → 2001-04-30
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2000-10-01 → 2000-10-31

PFAS detected

PFAS are industrial “forever chemicals”. These are the EPA's latest nationwide test results (2023–2025).

Contaminant	Max	Detection rate	Period
PFHXS	0.0081 µg/L	2/4	2025

Other contaminants detected

Each bar shows the measured level as a share of the EPA limit: green is well under, amber is close to it, red is over. For lead and copper the limit applies to exactly the 90th-percentile figure shown, so red there means a real exceedance. For everything else the limit applies to a running annual average while the figure is the 95th percentile of this system's samples — over 100% is worth reading, but is not by itself a violation. Where a single sample came in higher than that percentile, it is noted under the bar. Formal violations are listed separately.

Contaminant	Level vs EPA limit	Detection rate	Source	Period
Fluoride	1140.5 µg/L 29% of the EPA limit 4000 µg/L worst single sample: 1280 µg/L	100/196	SYR4	2012–2019
Copper	392.3 µg/L 30% of the EPA limit 1300 µg/L worst single sample: 1440 µg/L	59/61	SYR4	2014–2017
Chloroform	5.69 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 6.5 µg/L	22/33	SYR4	2012–2019
Bromodichloromethane	5.5 µg/L No EPA limit set	21/33	SYR4	2012–2019
Dibromochloromethane	5 µg/L No EPA limit set	19/33	SYR4	2012–2019
Nitrate	840 µg/L 8.4% of the EPA limit 10000 µg/L	18/32	SYR4	2012–2019
TTHM	17.299 µg/L 22% of the EPA limit 80 µg/L worst single sample: 17.86 µg/L	18/18	SYR4	2012–2019
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)	5.7225 µg/L 9.5% of the EPA limit 60 µg/L worst single sample: 5.85 µg/L	18/18	SYR4	2012–2019
Lead	0.0062 mg/L 41% of the EPA limit 0.0150 mg/L	16/16	LCR	2023
Trichloroacetic Acid	1.33 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 1.4 µg/L	15/18	SYR4	2012–2019
Dichloroacetic Acid	3.36 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 3.6 µg/L	13/18	SYR4	2012–2019
Dibromoacetic Acid	1.39 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 1.5 µg/L	12/18	SYR4	2012–2019
Lead	27.05 µg/L 180% of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 15 µg/L worst single sample: 34.8 µg/L	6/61	SYR4	2014–2017
Barium	16.05 µg/L 0.8% of the EPA limit 2000 µg/L worst single sample: 16.5 µg/L	4/4	SYR4	2014–2017
Nitrate-Nitrite	767.5 µg/L 7.7% of the EPA limit 10000 µg/L worst single sample: 770 µg/L	2/4	SYR4	2014–2017

86 contaminants tested, none detected

1,1,1-Trichloroethane1,1,2-Trichloroethane1,1-Dichloroethylene1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene1,2-Dichloroethane1,2-Dichloropropane11Cl-PF3OUdS2,4,5-TP2,4-D4:2 Fts6:2 Fts8:2 Fts9Cl-PF3ONSAdonaAntimony, TotalArsenicAtrazineBhc-GammaBenzeneBeryllium, TotalBromoformChlorobenzeneCadmiumCarbofuranCarbon TetrachlorideChlordaneChromiumDichloromethaneDalaponDinosebDiquatEndothallEndrinEthylbenzeneGlyphosateHexachlorobenzeneHfpo-DaHeptachlorHeptachlor EpoxideHexachlorocyclopentadieneLassoMercuryMethoxychlorMonobromoacetic AcidMonochloroacetic AcidNetfosaaNfdhaNmefosaaNitriteOxamylPfbaPFBSPfdaPfdoaPfeesaPfhpaPfhpsPfhxaPfmbaPfmpaPFNAPFOAPFOSPfpeaPfpesPftaPftrdaPfunaPentachlorophenolPicloramSeleniumSimazineStyreneTetrachloroethyleneThallium, TotalTolueneTotal Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB)ToxapheneTrichloroethyleneVinyl ChlorideXylenes, Totalcis-1,2-DichloroethyleneLithiumO-DichlorobenzeneP-Dichlorobenzenetrans-1,2-Dichloroethylene

Utility contact

Frequently asked questions about Portage Waterworks

Is Portage Waterworks tap water safe to drink?

EPA monitoring detected 16 contaminants in Portage Waterworks's water. A detection isn't the same as a violation — most levels are within federal limits. See each level and source above, and the utility's annual Consumer Confidence Report for its official compliance status.

What contaminants were detected in Portage Waterworks's water?

EPA monitoring detected Fluoride, Copper, Chloroform, Bromodichloromethane, Dibromochloromethane, and others. The full list with the level and data source for each is above.

How many people does Portage Waterworks serve?

Portage Waterworks reports serving 10,437 people in Wisconsin, per its EPA record.

Has Portage Waterworks had any water quality violations?

The EPA has 137 violations on file for Portage Waterworks, of which 25 are health-based (a contaminant limit or required treatment was breached) and 0 remain open. The rest are monitoring or reporting failures.

Where does this data come from?

Every figure is official EPA drinking-water monitoring — the Lead & Copper Rule, the UCMR-5 nationwide testing program, and the EPA Six-Year Review — not our own testing. Each number is labelled with its source and period.