Public water system · IL3010611
ActivePonderosa Wilderness Area
At a glance
Ponderosa Wilderness Area (PWSID IL3010611) is an active transient non-community water system in Bureau County, Illinois. It reports serving 25 people through 1 service connection. Its primary water source is groundwater, and EPA lists it as privately owned. Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, 2 are health-based, and the most recent began in January 2025.
Dataset updated . Source: EPA SDWIS/ECHO public records.
Population served
25
Service connections
1
Primary source
GW
Groundwater
System type
TNCWS
Transient non-community water system
System record
How does Ponderosa Wilderness Area compare with other water systems in Bureau County?
By EPA's size categories, Ponderosa Wilderness Area is a very small system (500 people or fewer). Bureau County has 52 active public water systems. Its population served is well below the county average of 551 people per system, and accounts for less than 0.1% of the 28,670 people reported by systems filed under the county. Across Illinois, the 3,872 active systems average 3,204 people each. Nationally, the average active transient non-community water system reports serving 144 people, so Ponderosa Wilderness Area 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. Illinois has 1,703 active transient non-community water systems, 44% of the state's 3,872 active systems. Groundwater means the system draws its water from wells or springs fed by underground aquifers. 2,808 Illinois systems (73%) list groundwater as their primary source.
Who owns and regulates Ponderosa Wilderness Area?
EPA lists Ponderosa Wilderness Area as privately owned. The IL state drinking water program is its primacy agency, the regulator with primary enforcement responsibility for the system under the Safe Drinking Water Act. 29 of the 52 active systems in Bureau County (56%) are also privately owned.
Does Ponderosa Wilderness Area have drinking water violations?
Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, 2 are health-based, and the most recent began in January 2025. The violations listed here began between January 2022 and January 2025. By type: 6 public notice, recordkeeping or other, 2 required treatment not met, 2 monitoring and reporting and 2 monitoring. The contaminant or rule involved most often is Public Notice (6 of them). EPA lists 8 as unaddressed and 4 as archived. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-01-24 | Public notice, recordkeeping or otherPublic Notification Violation for NPDWR Violation · code 75 | Public Noticecode 7500 | No | Unaddressed |
| 2025-01-22 | Public notice, recordkeeping or otherPublic Notification Violation for NPDWR Violation · code 75 | Public Noticecode 7500 | No | Unaddressed |
| 2024-01-27 | Public notice, recordkeeping or otherPublic Notification Violation for NPDWR Violation · code 75 | Public Noticecode 7500 | No | Unaddressed |
| 2023-07-23 | Public notice, recordkeeping or otherPublic Notification Violation for NPDWR Violation · code 75 | Public Noticecode 7500 | No | Unaddressed |
| 2023-05-02 | Required treatment not metTreatment Technique Startup Procedures (RTCR) · code 2D | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | Yes | Unaddressed |
| 2023-01-21 | Public notice, recordkeeping or otherPublic Notification Violation for NPDWR Violation · code 75 | Public Noticecode 7500 | No | Unaddressed |
| 2023-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Nitratecode 1040 | No | Archived |
| 2023-01-01 | MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | Archived |
| 2022-09-10 | Public notice, recordkeeping or otherPublic Notification Violation for NPDWR Violation · code 75 | Public Noticecode 7500 | No | Unaddressed |
| 2022-07-01 | Required treatment not metTreatment Technique Startup Procedures (RTCR) · code 2D | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | Yes | Unaddressed |
| 2022-01-01 | MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | Archived |
| 2022-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Nitratecode 1040 | No | Archived |
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.
Ponderosa Wilderness Area: frequently asked questions
Who runs Ponderosa Wilderness Area?
Ponderosa Wilderness Area (PWSID IL3010611) is a transient non-community water system privately owned. It is regulated by the IL state drinking water program.
How many people does Ponderosa Wilderness Area serve?
Ponderosa Wilderness Area reports serving 25 people through 1 service connection in Bureau County, Illinois.
Where does Ponderosa Wilderness Area 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 Ponderosa Wilderness Area have any drinking water violations?
Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, 2 are health-based, and the most recent began in January 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 Ponderosa Wilderness Area'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, 2 are health-based, and the most recent began in January 2025. For current results, consult EPA ECHO, or the IL state drinking water program.
Where can I find Ponderosa Wilderness Area's water quality report?
The annual Consumer Confidence Report requirement applies to community water systems. Ponderosa Wilderness Area 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 Bureau County
| Water system | County | Population served | Type | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Princeton | Bureau | 7,832 | Community | Groundwater |
| Spring Valley | Bureau | 5,582 | Community | Groundwater |
| De Pue | Bureau | 1,838 | Community | Groundwater |
| Walnut | Bureau | 1,311 | Community | Groundwater |
| Ladd | Bureau | 1,263 | Community | Groundwater |
| The Great Sauk Trail - East | Bureau | 900 | 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, “Ponderosa Wilderness Area, PWSID IL3010611, Illinois”, https://aquacensus.com/water-systems/illinois/ponderosa-wilderness-area-il3010611 (data as of October 1, 2026).