Public water system · CO0221179
ActiveCottonwood Hot Springs
At a glance
Cottonwood Hot Springs (PWSID CO0221179) is an active transient non-community water system in Chaffee County, Colorado. It reports serving 39 people through 2 service connections. Its primary water source is groundwater, and EPA lists it as privately owned. Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, none is health-based, and the most recent began in April 2026.
Dataset updated . Source: EPA SDWIS/ECHO public records.
Population served
39
Service connections
2
Primary source
GW
Groundwater
System type
TNCWS
Transient non-community water system
System record
How does Cottonwood Hot Springs compare with other water systems in Chaffee County?
By EPA's size categories, Cottonwood Hot Springs is a very small system (500 people or fewer). Chaffee County has 68 active public water systems. Its population served is well below the county average of 372 people per system, and accounts for 0.2% of the 25,274 people reported by systems filed under the county. Across Colorado, the 2,207 active systems average 3,400 people each. Nationally, the average active transient non-community water system reports serving 144 people, so Cottonwood Hot Springs is well below that figure.
What does “transient non-community water system” mean?
A transient non-community water system serves places where people do not stay long, such as gas stations and campgrounds, and regularly serves at least 25 people a day for at least 60 days a year. Colorado has 956 active transient non-community water systems, 43% of the state's 2,207 active systems. Groundwater means the system draws its water from wells or springs fed by underground aquifers. 1,437 Colorado systems (65%) list groundwater as their primary source.
Who owns and regulates Cottonwood Hot Springs?
EPA lists Cottonwood Hot Springs as privately owned. The CO state drinking water program is its primacy agency, the regulator with primary enforcement responsibility for the system under the Safe Drinking Water Act. 53 of the 68 active systems in Chaffee County (78%) are also privately owned.
Does Cottonwood Hot Springs have drinking water violations?
Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, none is health-based, and the most recent began in April 2026. The violations listed here began between July 2023 and April 2026. By type: 5 public notice, recordkeeping or other, 5 monitoring and 2 monitoring and reporting. The contaminant or rule involved most often is Revised Total Coliform Rule (6 of them). EPA lists 10 as resolved, 1 as unaddressed and 1 as archived. Resolved means at least one resolving action is on record: the system returned to compliance, the rule no longer applies, or no further action was needed. Unaddressed means the violation is not resolved or archived and is not yet covered by formal enforcement. Archived means the violation was not marked resolved but is more than five years past the end of the noncompliance period, so it no longer counts toward current compliance status.
| Began | Violation | Contaminant or rule | Health-based | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-24 | Public notice, recordkeeping or otherSample Siting Plan Errors (RTCR) · code 5A | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | Unaddressed |
| 2026-03-01 | MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | Archived |
| 2026-01-01 | MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | Resolved |
| 2025-05-05 | Public notice, recordkeeping or otherPublic Notification Violation without NPDWR Violation · code 76 | Public Noticecode 7500 | No | Resolved |
| 2025-05-01 | MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | Resolved |
| 2024-11-01 | MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | Resolved |
| 2024-10-29 | Public notice, recordkeeping or otherPublic Notification Violation for NPDWR Violation · code 75 | Public Noticecode 7500 | No | Resolved |
| 2024-04-29 | Public notice, recordkeeping or otherPublic Notification Violation for NPDWR Violation · code 75 | Public Noticecode 7500 | No | Resolved |
| 2024-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Nitritecode 1041 | No | Resolved |
| 2024-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Nitritecode 1041 | No | Resolved |
| 2023-08-01 | MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | Resolved |
| 2023-07-29 | Public notice, recordkeeping or otherPublic Notification Violation for NPDWR Violation · code 75 | Public Noticecode 7500 | No | Resolved |
The 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, newest first.Labels and codes come from EPA's SDWIS reference tables. A monitoring or reporting violation means a required test or report was missed or late; it does not by itself mean a contaminant was found. "Health-based" marks violations of a legal limit or required treatment.
Cottonwood Hot Springs: frequently asked questions
Who runs Cottonwood Hot Springs?
Cottonwood Hot Springs (PWSID CO0221179) is a transient non-community water system privately owned. It is regulated by the CO state drinking water program.
How many people does Cottonwood Hot Springs serve?
Cottonwood Hot Springs reports serving 39 people through 2 service connections in Chaffee County, Colorado.
Where does Cottonwood Hot Springs get its water?
EPA SDWIS lists this system's primary water source as groundwater. Groundwater means the system draws its water from wells or springs fed by underground aquifers.
Does Cottonwood Hot Springs have any drinking water violations?
Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, none is health-based, and the most recent began in April 2026. A monitoring or reporting violation means a required test or report was missed or late; it does not by itself mean a contaminant was found.
Is Cottonwood Hot Springs' water safe to drink?
AquaCensus shows EPA compliance records, not current water test results, so it cannot say whether the water is safe at a given moment. Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, none is health-based, and the most recent began in April 2026. For current results, consult EPA ECHO, or the CO state drinking water program.
Where can I find Cottonwood Hot Springs' water quality report?
The annual Consumer Confidence Report requirement applies to community water systems. Cottonwood Hot Springs is a transient non-community water system, so it is not required to publish one; like every public water system, it must notify the people it serves about violations under EPA's public notification rules.
Other water systems in Chaffee County
| Water system | County | Population served | Type | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salida City of | Chaffee | 5,666 | Community | Surface water |
| Buena Vista Town of | Chaffee | 3,776 | Community | Groundwater under influence of surface water |
| Monarch Ski Area | Chaffee | 2,500 | Transient non-community | Groundwater |
| Poncha Springs Town of | Chaffee | 2,118 | Community | Groundwater |
| Buena Vista Correctional Facility | Chaffee | 1,700 | Community | Groundwater |
| Noahs Ark Adventure Company | Chaffee | 506 | Transient non-community | Groundwater |
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About this data
Source: U.S. EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) and SDWA violation records, via EPA ECHO, as published October 1, 2026 — AquaCensus refreshes it quarterly. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.
Cite as: AquaCensus, “Cottonwood Hot Springs, PWSID CO0221179, Colorado”, https://aquacensus.com/water-systems/colorado/cottonwood-hot-springs-co0221179 (data as of October 1, 2026).