Public water system · IA7812079
ActiveCarter Lake Water District
At a glance
Carter Lake Water District (PWSID IA7812079) is an active community water system in Pottawattamie County, Iowa. It reports serving 3,791 people through 1,306 service connections. Its primary water source is purchased surface water, and EPA lists it as owned by a local government. Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, one is health-based, and the most recent began in October 2022.
Dataset updated . Source: EPA SDWIS/ECHO public records.
Population served
3,791
Service connections
1,306
Primary source
SWP
Purchased surface water
System type
CWS
Community water system
System record
How does Carter Lake Water District compare with other water systems in Pottawattamie County?
By EPA's size categories, Carter Lake Water District is a medium system (3,301 to 10,000 people). Pottawattamie County has 33 active public water systems, and Carter Lake Water District is the 3rd-largest of them by population served. Its population served is about 47% above the county average of 2,579 people per system, and accounts for 4.5% of the 85,108 people reported by systems filed under the county. Across Iowa, the 1,828 active systems average 1,718 people each. Nationally, the average active community water system reports serving 6,703 people, so Carter Lake Water District is about 43% 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. Iowa has 1,084 active community water systems, 59% of the state's 1,828 active systems. Purchased surface water means the system buys surface water from another public water system rather than drawing its own. 119 Iowa systems (6.5%) list purchased surface water as their primary source.
Who owns and regulates Carter Lake Water District?
EPA lists Carter Lake Water District as owned by a local government. The IA state drinking water program is its primacy agency, the regulator with primary enforcement responsibility for the system under the Safe Drinking Water Act. 15 of the 33 active systems in Pottawattamie County (45%) are also owned by a local government.
Does Carter Lake Water District have drinking water violations?
Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, one is health-based, and the most recent began in October 2022. The violations listed here began between October 2011 and October 2022. By type: 9 monitoring and reporting, 2 public notice, recordkeeping or other and 1 contaminant level above the legal limit. The contaminant or rule involved most often is Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) (5 of them). EPA lists 10 as resolved and 2 as unaddressed. 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.
| Began | Violation | Contaminant or rule | Health-based | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-10-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Nitritecode 1041 | No | Resolved |
| 2022-06-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27 | Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)code 2950 | No | Resolved |
| 2022-06-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27 | Haloacetic acids (HAA5)code 2456 | No | Resolved |
| 2022-05-22 | Public notice, recordkeeping or otherPublic Notification Violation for NPDWR Violation · code 75 | Public Noticecode 7500 | No | Unaddressed |
| 2022-05-22 | Public notice, recordkeeping or otherPublic Notification Violation for NPDWR Violation · code 75 | Public Noticecode 7500 | No | Unaddressed |
| 2021-12-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27 | Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)code 2950 | No | Resolved |
| 2021-12-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27 | Haloacetic acids (HAA5)code 2456 | No | Resolved |
| 2021-03-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27 | Haloacetic acids (HAA5)code 2456 | No | Resolved |
| 2021-03-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27 | Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)code 2950 | No | Resolved |
| 2017-12-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27 | Haloacetic acids (HAA5)code 2456 | No | Resolved |
| 2017-12-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27 | Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)code 2950 | No | Resolved |
| 2011-10-01 | Contaminant level above the legal limitMaximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average · code 02 | Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)code 2950 | 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.
Carter Lake Water District: frequently asked questions
Who runs Carter Lake Water District?
Carter Lake Water District (PWSID IA7812079) is a community water system owned by a local government. It is regulated by the IA state drinking water program.
How many people does Carter Lake Water District serve?
Carter Lake Water District reports serving 3,791 people through 1,306 service connections in Pottawattamie County, Iowa.
Where does Carter Lake Water District get its water?
EPA SDWIS lists this system's primary water source as purchased surface water. Purchased surface water means the system buys surface water from another public water system rather than drawing its own.
Does Carter Lake Water District have any drinking water violations?
Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, one is health-based, and the most recent began in October 2022. 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 Carter Lake Water District'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, one is health-based, and the most recent began in October 2022. For current results, consult the system's annual water quality report, EPA ECHO, or the IA state drinking water program.
Where can I find Carter Lake Water District's water quality report?
As a community water system, Carter Lake Water District 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 Pottawattamie County
| Water system | County | Population served | Type | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Council Bluffs Water Works | Pottawattamie | 64,447 | Community | Surface water |
| Regional Water | Pottawattamie + 1 more | 4,132 | Community | Purchased surface water |
| Avoca Water Works | Pottawattamie | 1,697 | Community | Purchased groundwater |
| Urban Bluffs - North | Pottawattamie | 1,558 | Community | Purchased surface water |
| Oakland Munic Water Utility | Pottawattamie | 1,524 | Community | Groundwater |
| Treynor Water Department | Pottawattamie | 1,049 | Community | Groundwater |
Related pages
Working with water-system records? Pro adds alerts, change history and CSV export ($49/mo); Enterprise adds full national files, the API and an MCP server for AI tools.
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, “Carter Lake Water District, PWSID IA7812079, Iowa”, https://aquacensus.com/water-systems/iowa/carter-lake-water-district-ia7812079 (data as of October 1, 2026).