Public water system · MA4197008
ActiveSurfside Beach
At a glance
Surfside Beach (PWSID MA4197008) is an active transient non-community water system in Nantucket County, Massachusetts. It reports serving 1,500 people through 1 service connection. Its primary water source is groundwater, and EPA lists it as owned by a local government. Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, none is health-based, and the most recent began in September 2017.
Dataset updated . Source: EPA SDWIS/ECHO public records.
Population served
1,500
Service connections
1
Primary source
GW
Groundwater
System type
TNCWS
Transient non-community water system
System record
How does Surfside Beach compare with other water systems in Nantucket County?
By EPA's size categories, Surfside Beach is a small system (501 to 3,300 people). Nantucket County has 5 active public water systems, and Surfside Beach is the 3rd-largest of them by population served. Its population served is well below the county average of 6,513 people per system, and accounts for 4.6% of the 32,563 people reported by systems filed under the county. Across Massachusetts, the 1,636 active systems average 6,275 people each. Nationally, the average active transient non-community water system reports serving 144 people, so Surfside Beach is about 10 times 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. Massachusetts has 859 active transient non-community water systems, 53% of the state's 1,636 active systems. Groundwater means the system draws its water from wells or springs fed by underground aquifers. 1,354 Massachusetts systems (83%) list groundwater as their primary source.
Who owns and regulates Surfside Beach?
EPA lists Surfside Beach as owned by a local government. The MA state drinking water program is its primacy agency, the regulator with primary enforcement responsibility for the system under the Safe Drinking Water Act. 3 of the 5 active systems in Nantucket County (60%) are also owned by a local government.
Does Surfside Beach have drinking water violations?
Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, none is health-based, and the most recent began in September 2017. The violations listed here began between July 2001 and September 2017. By type: 9 monitoring and reporting and 3 monitoring. The contaminant or rule involved most often is Nitrate (4 of them). EPA lists 9 as archived and 3 as resolved. 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. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-09-01 | MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | Archived |
| 2017-07-01 | MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | Archived |
| 2016-04-01 | MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | Archived |
| 2013-07-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Nitratecode 1040 | No | Resolved |
| 2009-07-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Nitratecode 1040 | No | Resolved |
| 2009-07-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Nitritecode 1041 | No | Resolved |
| 2008-07-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Nitratecode 1040 | No | Archived |
| 2007-08-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Major (TCR) · code 23 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | No | Archived |
| 2006-06-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Major (TCR) · code 23 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | No | Archived |
| 2005-07-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Nitratecode 1040 | No | Archived |
| 2002-07-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Major (TCR) · code 23 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | No | Archived |
| 2001-07-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Major (TCR) · code 23 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | 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.
Surfside Beach: frequently asked questions
Who runs Surfside Beach?
Surfside Beach (PWSID MA4197008) is a transient non-community water system owned by a local government. It is regulated by the MA state drinking water program.
How many people does Surfside Beach serve?
Surfside Beach reports serving 1,500 people through 1 service connection in Nantucket County, Massachusetts.
Where does Surfside Beach 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 Surfside Beach 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 September 2017. 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 Surfside Beach'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, none is health-based, and the most recent began in September 2017. For current results, consult EPA ECHO, or the MA state drinking water program.
Where can I find Surfside Beach's water quality report?
The annual Consumer Confidence Report requirement applies to community water systems. Surfside Beach 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 Nantucket County
| Water system | County | Population served | Type | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wannacomet Water Company | Nantucket | 27,703 | Community | Groundwater |
| Siasconset Water Department | Nantucket | 3,000 | Community | Groundwater |
| Wauwinet House | Nantucket | 300 | Transient non-community | Groundwater |
| Sankaty Head Golf Club Inc.. | Nantucket | 60 | Transient non-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, “Surfside Beach, PWSID MA4197008, Massachusetts”, https://aquacensus.com/water-systems/massachusetts/surfside-beach-ma4197008 (data as of October 1, 2026).