Public water system · IA8609019

Active

Chelsea Water Supply

At a glance

Chelsea Water Supply (PWSID IA8609019) is an active community water system in Tama County, Iowa. It reports serving 229 people through 130 service connections. Its primary water source is purchased groundwater, and EPA lists it as owned by a local government. EPA's records list 11 violations for this system; none is health-based, and the most recent began in June 2025.

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

Population served

229

Service connections

130

Primary source

GWP

Purchased groundwater

System type

CWS

Community water system

System record

PWSIDIA8609019

System typeCommunity water system

Activity statusActive

Population served229

Service connections130

Primary water sourcePurchased groundwater

Owner typeLocal government

Primacy agencyIA state drinking water program

City servedChelsea

StateIowa

ZIP—

CountyTama County

How does Chelsea Water Supply compare with other water systems in Tama County?

By EPA's size categories, Chelsea Water Supply is a very small system (500 people or fewer). Tama County has 13 active public water systems. Its population served is well below the county average of 1,947 people per system, and accounts for 0.9% of the 25,305 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 Chelsea Water Supply 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. Iowa has 1,084 active community water systems, 59% of the state's 1,828 active systems. Purchased groundwater means the system buys groundwater from another public water system rather than drawing its own. 156 Iowa systems (8.5%) list purchased groundwater as their primary source.

Who owns and regulates Chelsea Water Supply?

EPA lists Chelsea Water Supply 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. 10 of the 13 active systems in Tama County (77%) are also owned by a local government.

Does Chelsea Water Supply have drinking water violations?

EPA's records list 11 violations for this system; none is health-based, and the most recent began in June 2025. The violations listed here began between July 1993 and June 2025. By type: 7 monitoring and reporting, 2 public notice, recordkeeping or other and 2 monitoring. The contaminant or rule involved most often is Total coliform bacteria (TCR) (3 of them). EPA lists 7 as resolved, 2 as unaddressed and 2 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
2025-06-01	Monitoring and reportingFollow-up Or Routine LCR Tap M/R · code 52	Lead and Copper Rulecode 5000	No	Unaddressed
2024-09-14	Public notice, recordkeeping or otherPublic Notification Violation for NPDWR Violation · code 75	Public Noticecode 7500	No	Resolved
2024-05-01	Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27	Haloacetic acids (HAA5)code 2456	No	Resolved
2024-05-01	Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27	Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)code 2950	No	Resolved
2024-04-01	MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A	Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000	No	Resolved
2022-04-24	Public notice, recordkeeping or otherPublic Notification Violation for NPDWR Violation · code 75	Public Noticecode 7500	No	Unaddressed
2021-12-01	MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A	Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000	No	Resolved
2020-01-01	Monitoring and reportingLead Consumer Notice · code 66	Lead and Copper Rulecode 5000	No	Resolved
2013-05-01	Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Major (TCR) · code 23	Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100	No	Resolved
1993-08-01	Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Major (TCR) · code 23	Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100	No	Archived
1993-07-01	Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Major (TCR) · code 23	Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100	No	Archived

All 11 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.

Chelsea Water Supply: frequently asked questions

Who runs Chelsea Water Supply?

Chelsea Water Supply (PWSID IA8609019) is a community water system owned by a local government. It is regulated by the IA state drinking water program.

How many people does Chelsea Water Supply serve?

Chelsea Water Supply reports serving 229 people through 130 service connections in Tama County, Iowa.

Where does Chelsea Water Supply get its water?

EPA SDWIS lists this system's primary water source as purchased groundwater. Purchased groundwater means the system buys groundwater from another public water system rather than drawing its own.

Does Chelsea Water Supply have any drinking water violations?

EPA's records list 11 violations for this system; none is health-based, and the most recent began in June 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 Chelsea Water Supply'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. EPA's records list 11 violations for this system; none is health-based, and the most recent began in June 2025. For current results, consult the system's annual water quality report, EPA ECHO, or the IA state drinking water program.

Where can I find Chelsea Water Supply's water quality report?

As a community water system, Chelsea Water Supply 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 Tama County

Water system	County	Population served	Type	Source
Poweshiek Water Association	Tama	13,920	Community	Groundwater
Tama Water Supply	Tama	3,130	Community	Groundwater
Toledo Water Supply	Tama	2,399	Community	Groundwater
Traer Municipal Water Plant	Tama	1,583	Community	Groundwater
Dysart Water Supply	Tama	1,281	Community	Purchased groundwater
Iowa Premium LLC	Tama	841	Non-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, “Chelsea Water Supply, PWSID IA8609019, Iowa”, https://aquacensus.com/water-systems/iowa/chelsea-water-supply-ia8609019 (data as of October 1, 2026).