Public water system · CO0149476

Active

Little Elk Creek

At a glance

Little Elk Creek (PWSID CO0149476) is an active community water system in Pitkin County, Colorado. It reports serving 150 people through 78 service connections. Its primary water source is groundwater under influence of surface water, and EPA lists it as privately owned. Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, 3 are health-based, and the most recent began in October 2025.

Dataset updated October 2026 . Source: EPA SDWIS/ECHO public records.

Population served

150

Service connections

Primary source

Groundwater under influence of surface water

System type

CWS

Community water system

System record

PWSIDCO0149476

System typeCommunity water system

Activity statusActive

Population served150

Service connections78

Primary water sourceGroundwater under influence of surface water

Owner typePrivate

Primacy agencyCO state drinking water program

City served—

StateColorado

ZIP—

CountyPitkin County

How does Little Elk Creek compare with other water systems in Pitkin County?

By EPA's size categories, Little Elk Creek is a very small system (500 people or fewer). Pitkin County has 49 active public water systems. Its population served is well below the county average of 1,085 people per system, and accounts for 0.3% of the 53,175 people reported by systems filed under the county. Across Colorado, the 2,207 active systems average 3,400 people each. Nationally, the average active community water system reports serving 6,703 people, so Little Elk Creek is well below that figure.

What does “community water system” mean?

A community water system serves at least 15 connections used by year-round residents, or regularly serves at least 25 year-round residents. Homes, apartments and mobile-home parks are served by these. Colorado has 1,068 active community water systems, 48% of the state's 2,207 active systems. Groundwater under the influence of surface water is well or spring water that the regulator has found to be affected by nearby surface water, so it is regulated under the surface-water treatment rules. 166 Colorado systems (7.5%) list groundwater under influence of surface water as their primary source.

Who owns and regulates Little Elk Creek?

EPA lists Little Elk Creek 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. 35 of the 49 active systems in Pitkin County (71%) are also privately owned.

Does Little Elk Creek have drinking water violations?

Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, 3 are health-based, and the most recent began in October 2025. The violations listed here began between January 2017 and October 2025. By type: 9 monitoring and reporting and 3 required treatment not met. The contaminant or rule involved most often is Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (4 of them). EPA lists 12 as resolved. 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.

Began	Violation	Contaminant or rule	Health-based	Status
2025-10-01	Required treatment not metMonthly Turbidity Exceed (Enhanced SWTR) · code 44	Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rulecode 0300	Yes	Resolved
2025-10-01	Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Turbidity (Enhanced SWTR) · code 38	Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rulecode 0300	No	Resolved
2024-11-01	Monitoring and reportingMonitoring of Treatment (SWTR-Filter) · code 36	Surface Water Treatment Rulecode 0200	No	Resolved
2024-11-01	Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Turbidity (Enhanced SWTR) · code 38	Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rulecode 0300	No	Resolved
2024-07-01	Monitoring and reportingFollow-up Or Routine LCR Tap M/R · code 52	Lead and Copper Rulecode 5000	No	Resolved
2023-05-01	Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Turbidity (Enhanced SWTR) · code 38	Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rulecode 0300	No	Resolved
2023-05-01	Monitoring and reportingMonitoring of Treatment (SWTR-Filter) · code 36	Surface Water Treatment Rulecode 0200	No	Resolved
2023-01-01	Monitoring and reportingWater Quality Parameter M/R · code 53	Lead and Copper Rulecode 5000	No	Resolved
2023-01-01	Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27	Haloacetic acids (HAA5)code 2456	No	Resolved
2020-01-01	Monitoring and reportingFollow-up Or Routine LCR Tap M/R · code 52	Lead and Copper Rulecode 5000	No	Resolved
2017-02-01	Required treatment not metTreatment Technique (SWTR and GWR) · code 41	Surface Water Treatment Rulecode 0200	Yes	Resolved
2017-01-01	Required treatment not metTreatment Technique (SWTR and GWR) · code 41	Surface Water Treatment Rulecode 0200	Yes	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.

Little Elk Creek: frequently asked questions

Who runs Little Elk Creek?

Little Elk Creek (PWSID CO0149476) is a community water system privately owned. It is regulated by the CO state drinking water program.

How many people does Little Elk Creek serve?

Little Elk Creek reports serving 150 people through 78 service connections in Pitkin County, Colorado.

Where does Little Elk Creek get its water?

EPA SDWIS lists this system's primary water source as groundwater under influence of surface water. Groundwater under the influence of surface water is well or spring water that the regulator has found to be affected by nearby surface water, so it is regulated under the surface-water treatment rules.

Does Little Elk Creek have any drinking water violations?

Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, 3 are health-based, and the most recent began in October 2025. 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 Little Elk Creek's 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, 3 are health-based, and the most recent began in October 2025. For current results, consult the system's annual water quality report, EPA ECHO, or the CO state drinking water program.

Where can I find Little Elk Creek's water quality report?

As a community water system, Little Elk Creek must deliver an annual water quality report, called a Consumer Confidence Report, to its customers by July 1 each year, covering the previous calendar year. The system can provide a copy on request.

Other water systems in Pitkin County

Water system	County	Population served	Type	Source
Aspen City of	Pitkin	31,100	Community	Surface water
Snowmass Village Wsd	Pitkin	6,353	Community	Surface water
Aspen Ski Corp Hi Alpine L9	Pitkin	2,900	Transient non-community	Surface water
Aspen Ski Corp Garrett Gulch	Pitkin	2,630	Transient non-community	Surface water
Aspen Ski Co Sundeck	Pitkin	1,801	Transient non-community	Groundwater under influence of surface water
Aspen Ski Corp Elk Camp	Pitkin	1,380	Transient non-community	Surface water

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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, “Little Elk Creek, PWSID CO0149476, Colorado”, https://aquacensus.com/water-systems/colorado/little-elk-creek-co0149476 (data as of October 1, 2026).