Public water system · MT0000251
ActiveHot Springs Municipal Water
At a glance
Hot Springs Municipal Water (PWSID MT0000251) is an active community water system in Sanders County, Montana. It reports serving 600 people through 408 service connections. 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, one is health-based, and the most recent began in July 2025.
Dataset updated . Source: EPA SDWIS/ECHO public records.
Population served
600
Service connections
408
Primary source
GW
Groundwater
System type
CWS
Community water system
System record
How does Hot Springs Municipal Water compare with other water systems in Sanders County?
By EPA's size categories, Hot Springs Municipal Water is a small system (501 to 3,300 people). Sanders County has 44 active public water systems, and Hot Springs Municipal Water is the 3rd-largest of them by population served. Its population served is about 187% above the county average of 209 people per system, and accounts for 6.5% of the 9,212 people reported by systems filed under the county. Across Montana, the 2,378 active systems average 489 people each. Nationally, the average active community water system reports serving 6,703 people, so Hot Springs Municipal Water 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. Montana has 853 active community water systems, 36% of the state's 2,378 active systems. Groundwater means the system draws its water from wells or springs fed by underground aquifers. 1,994 Montana systems (84%) list groundwater as their primary source.
Who owns and regulates Hot Springs Municipal Water?
EPA lists Hot Springs Municipal Water as owned by a local government. The MT state drinking water program is its primacy agency, the regulator with primary enforcement responsibility for the system under the Safe Drinking Water Act. 7 of the 44 active systems in Sanders County (16%) are also owned by a local government.
Does Hot Springs Municipal Water have drinking water violations?
Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, one is health-based, and the most recent began in July 2025. The violations listed here began between July 2005 and July 2025. 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 Nitrate-Nitrite (4 of them). EPA lists 12 as resolved. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-07-01 | Public notice, recordkeeping or otherConsumer Confidence Report Complete Failure to Report · code 71 | Consumer Confidence Rulecode 7000 | No | Resolved |
| 2023-04-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Combined Radium (-226 and -228)code 4010 | No | Resolved |
| 2023-04-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Gross alpha (excluding radon and uranium)code 4000 | No | Resolved |
| 2018-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Nitrate-Nitritecode 1038 | No | Resolved |
| 2015-09-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Major (TCR) · code 23 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | No | Resolved |
| 2012-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Nitrate-Nitritecode 1038 | No | Resolved |
| 2012-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Nitrate-Nitritecode 1038 | No | Resolved |
| 2012-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Nitrate-Nitritecode 1038 | No | Resolved |
| 2009-10-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Major (TCR) · code 23 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | No | Resolved |
| 2009-05-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Major (TCR) · code 23 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | No | Resolved |
| 2007-07-01 | Public notice, recordkeeping or otherConsumer Confidence Report Complete Failure to Report · code 71 | Consumer Confidence Rulecode 7000 | No | Resolved |
| 2005-07-01 | Contaminant level above the legal limitMaximum Contaminant Level Violation, Monthly (TCR) · code 22 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | 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.
Hot Springs Municipal Water: frequently asked questions
Who runs Hot Springs Municipal Water?
Hot Springs Municipal Water (PWSID MT0000251) is a community water system owned by a local government. It is regulated by the MT state drinking water program.
How many people does Hot Springs Municipal Water serve?
Hot Springs Municipal Water reports serving 600 people through 408 service connections in Sanders County, Montana.
Where does Hot Springs Municipal Water 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 Hot Springs Municipal Water 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 July 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 Hot Springs Municipal Water'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 July 2025. For current results, consult the system's annual water quality report, EPA ECHO, or the MT state drinking water program.
Where can I find Hot Springs Municipal Water's water quality report?
As a community water system, Hot Springs Municipal Water 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 Sanders County
| Water system | County | Population served | Type | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thompson Falls City of | Sanders | 1,950 | Community | Groundwater |
| Plains Town of | Sanders | 1,700 | Community | Groundwater |
| One Stop | Sanders | 500 | Transient non-community | Groundwater |
| Sanders County Harvest Foods | Sanders | 445 | Non-transient non-community | Groundwater |
| Water Service Inc. Trout Creek | Sanders | 350 | Community | Groundwater |
| Noxon Water District | Sanders | 330 | 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, “Hot Springs Municipal Water, PWSID MT0000251, Montana”, https://aquacensus.com/water-systems/montana/hot-springs-municipal-water-mt0000251 (data as of October 1, 2026).