Buckingham Water System
A missed test is not evidence of bad water. It also is not evidence of good water: for that period nobody checked.
On record since 2019: 3 violations. 2 over the limit · 1 missed or late test. Most recent began 2023-01-01.
For this year's test results, ask the utility for its annual Consumer Confidence Report. Every community system must publish one.
More violations on record than 52% of active water systems in Washington. Small systems with no staff chemist often rack up missed-test violations; big utilities rarely do.
The record, year by year
Across Washington, 88% of violations are missed or late tests and 3% are water over a limit.
Open now (1)
- 2019-01-01Lead and Copper RuleInitial Tap Sampling for Pb and CuOpen
Every violation on record
- 2023-01-01NitrateMCL, Single Samplemeasured 13.00 MG/LBack in compliance
- 2021-01-01NitrateMCL, Single Samplemeasured 12.70 MG/LBack in compliance
- 2019-01-01Lead and Copper RuleInitial Tap Sampling for Pb and CuOpen
System details
| Population served | 64 |
| Service connections | 4 |
| Water source | Groundwater |
| System type | Transient Non-Community |
| Owner | Private |
| Status | Active |
| City | Tonasket |
| EPA ZIP on file | 98855-9433 |
Areas served
- Okanogan County
Reading this record
Buckingham Water System is a transient non-community that draws from groundwater and serves about 64 people in Tonasket, Washington. Everything above comes from the EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), where states report every violation by every public water system.
Four kinds of violation. Only one is a measurement of the water: over the limit means a test came back above a legal maximum (an MCL). A treatment lapse means a required protective step was not done, such as disinfection, filtration, fixing a defect an inspector found, or filing a lead-pipe inventory. A missed or late test means a required test was skipped or never reported. That is the most common kind, and the most misread: it does not mean the water was bad, and it does not mean the water was fine. Notices and reports covers public notices and the annual Consumer Confidence Report.
Status. “Back in compliance” means the state recorded a return to compliance. “Period ended” means the violation's compliance period is over but no return to compliance was ever filed, which is common in older records. EPA's federal copy lags state records by months, so call the utility for anything current.