Public water system · MN1650003
ActiveBuffalo Lake
At a glance
Buffalo Lake (PWSID MN1650003) is an active community water system in Renville County, Minnesota. It reports serving 703 people through 347 service connections. Its primary water source is groundwater, and EPA lists it as owned by a local government. EPA's records list 10 violations for this system; 1 is health-based, and the most recent began in July 2021.
Dataset updated . Source: EPA SDWIS/ECHO public records.
Population served
703
Service connections
347
Primary source
GW
Groundwater
System type
CWS
Community water system
System record
How does Buffalo Lake compare with other water systems in Renville County?
By EPA's size categories, Buffalo Lake is a small system (501 to 3,300 people). Renville County has 28 active public water systems, and Buffalo Lake is the 6th-largest of them by population served. Its population served is about 77% above the county average of 398 people per system, and accounts for 6.3% of the 11,133 people reported by systems filed under the county. Across Minnesota, the 6,465 active systems average 820 people each. Nationally, the average active community water system reports serving 6,703 people, so Buffalo Lake 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. Minnesota has 987 active community water systems, 15% of the state's 6,465 active systems. Groundwater means the system draws its water from wells or springs fed by underground aquifers. 6,261 Minnesota systems (97%) list groundwater as their primary source.
Who owns and regulates Buffalo Lake?
EPA lists Buffalo Lake as owned by a local government. The MN state drinking water program is its primacy agency, the regulator with primary enforcement responsibility for the system under the Safe Drinking Water Act. 14 of the 28 active systems in Renville County (50%) are also owned by a local government.
Does Buffalo Lake have drinking water violations?
EPA's records list 10 violations for this system; 1 is health-based, and the most recent began in July 2021. The violations listed here began between July 1993 and July 2021. By type: 9 monitoring and reporting and 1 contaminant level above the legal limit. The contaminant or rule involved most often is Lead and Copper Rule (7 of them). EPA lists 9 as resolved and 1 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. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-07-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27 | Haloacetic acids (HAA5)code 2456 | No | Resolved |
| 2021-07-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27 | Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)code 2950 | No | Archived |
| 2020-10-01 | Monitoring and reportingFollow-up Or Routine LCR Tap M/R · code 52 | Lead and Copper Rulecode 5000 | No | Resolved |
| 2019-10-01 | Monitoring and reportingFollow-up Or Routine LCR Tap M/R · code 52 | Lead and Copper Rulecode 5000 | No | Resolved |
| 2013-10-01 | Monitoring and reportingFollow-up Or Routine LCR Tap M/R · code 52 | Lead and Copper Rulecode 5000 | No | Resolved |
| 2012-07-01 | Monitoring and reportingWater Quality Parameter M/R · code 53 | Lead and Copper Rulecode 5000 | No | Resolved |
| 2006-10-23 | Contaminant level above the legal limitMaximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average · code 02 | Arseniccode 1005 | Yes | Resolved |
| 2005-10-01 | Monitoring and reportingFollow-up Or Routine LCR Tap M/R · code 52 | Lead and Copper Rulecode 5000 | No | Resolved |
| 2000-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingFollow-up Or Routine LCR Tap M/R · code 52 | Lead and Copper Rulecode 5000 | No | Resolved |
| 1993-07-01 | Monitoring and reportingInitial Tap Sampling for Pb and Cu · code 51 | Lead and Copper Rulecode 5000 | No | Resolved |
All 10 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.
Buffalo Lake: frequently asked questions
Who runs Buffalo Lake?
Buffalo Lake (PWSID MN1650003) is a community water system owned by a local government. It is regulated by the MN state drinking water program.
How many people does Buffalo Lake serve?
Buffalo Lake reports serving 703 people through 347 service connections in Renville County, Minnesota.
Where does Buffalo Lake 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 Buffalo Lake have any drinking water violations?
EPA's records list 10 violations for this system; 1 is health-based, and the most recent began in July 2021. 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 Buffalo Lake'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 10 violations for this system; 1 is health-based, and the most recent began in July 2021. For current results, consult the system's annual water quality report, EPA ECHO, or the MN state drinking water program.
Where can I find Buffalo Lake's water quality report?
As a community water system, Buffalo Lake 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 Renville County
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, “Buffalo Lake, PWSID MN1650003, Minnesota”, https://aquacensus.com/water-systems/minnesota/buffalo-lake-mn1650003 (data as of October 1, 2026).