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MISSOULA WATER vs BILLINGS CITY OF

Water quality comparison — risk levels, violations, PFAS records, and contaminants

Quick Answer

Both utilities share the same risk level (safe). MISSOULA WATER has 0 open health-based violations and 1305 PFAS records. BILLINGS CITY OF has 0 open health-based violations and 116 PFAS records.

MISSOULA WATER

Montana · MT0000294

Overall Risk Level

No Concerns Detected

No Concern
Low
Moderate
High
Critical

Water meets all safety standards with no detected exceedances.

0

Open violations

1305

PFAS records

BILLINGS CITY OF

Montana · MT0000153

Overall Risk Level

No Concerns Detected

No Concern
Low
Moderate
High
Critical

Water meets all safety standards with no detected exceedances.

0

Open violations

116

PFAS records

Head-to-Head Comparison

MetricMISSOULA WATERBILLINGS CITY OF
StateMontanaMontana
Risk LevelNo Concerns DetectedNo Concerns Detected
Population Served68,200114,000
Open Health Violations00
Total Violations250
PFAS Records1305116
OwnershipLocalLocal
Service TypeGroundwaterSurface water
City ServedMissoulaBillings

Contaminants in Violation Records

MISSOULA WATER

  • Arsenic
  • Turbidity
  • Cadmium

BILLINGS CITY OF

No named contaminants in violation records.

Key Differences

MISSOULA WATER has 1305 PFAS records vs. 116 for BILLINGS CITY OF.

What Should I Do?

If either utility shows open violations or elevated PFAS records, consider:

  • Installing a reverse osmosis filter — removes PFAS, lead, arsenic, nitrates, and most heavy metals.
  • Requesting your utility’s annual Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) for the most current test results.
  • Ordering a certified lab water test if you want contaminant-specific data for your address.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is safer — MISSOULA WATER or BILLINGS CITY OF?

Both utilities share the same risk level (safe). Both utilities have similar violation profiles — review the full data above to decide based on specific contaminants that concern you.

What does "open health-based violation" mean?

An open health-based violation means a water system has exceeded an EPA Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) or failed to meet a treatment technique — and the violation has not yet been resolved. These are the most serious type of water quality violations.

How current is this data?

Violation data comes from EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), which is updated as utilities report. PFAS data comes from EPA's UCMR 5 monitoring (2023–2025). Risk levels are recalculated daily.

What does PWSID mean?

PWSID stands for Public Water System ID — a unique federal identifier assigned to each community water system. You can use it to look up a system in EPA's ECHO database.

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