Public water system · MT0004359
ActiveMontana City Mercantile Hardware Cafe
At a glance
Montana City Mercantile Hardware Cafe (PWSID MT0004359) is an active transient non-community water system in Jefferson County, Montana. It reports serving 56 people through 1 service connection. Its primary water source is groundwater, and EPA lists it as privately owned. Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, one is health-based, and the most recent began in April 2026.
Dataset updated . Source: EPA SDWIS/ECHO public records.
Population served
56
Service connections
1
Primary source
GW
Groundwater
System type
TNCWS
Transient non-community water system
System record
How does Montana City Mercantile Hardware Cafe compare with other water systems in Jefferson County?
By EPA's size categories, Montana City Mercantile Hardware Cafe is a very small system (500 people or fewer). Jefferson County has 41 active public water systems. Its population served is well below the county average of 241 people per system, and accounts for 0.6% of the 9,886 people reported by systems filed under the county. Across Montana, the 2,378 active systems average 489 people each. Nationally, the average active transient non-community water system reports serving 144 people, so Montana City Mercantile Hardware Cafe is about 61% below 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. Montana has 1,206 active transient non-community water systems, 51% 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 Montana City Mercantile Hardware Cafe?
EPA lists Montana City Mercantile Hardware Cafe as privately owned. 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. 30 of the 41 active systems in Jefferson County (73%) are also privately owned.
Does Montana City Mercantile Hardware Cafe have drinking water violations?
Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, one is health-based, and the most recent began in April 2026. The violations listed here began between December 2023 and April 2026. By type: 9 monitoring, 2 monitoring and reporting and 1 required treatment not met. The contaminant or rule involved most often is Revised Total Coliform Rule (10 of them). EPA lists 10 as resolved 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. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Source Water (GWR) · code 34 | E. colicode 3014 | No | Resolved |
| 2026-04-01 | MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | Archived |
| 2026-02-01 | MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | Archived |
| 2025-12-01 | MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | Resolved |
| 2025-10-07 | Required treatment not metTreatment Technique, Level 1 Assessment (RTCR) · code 2A | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | Yes | Resolved |
| 2025-09-01 | MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | Resolved |
| 2025-08-21 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Source Water (GWR) · code 34 | E. colicode 3014 | No | Resolved |
| 2025-04-01 | MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | Resolved |
| 2025-01-01 | MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | Resolved |
| 2024-09-01 | MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | Resolved |
| 2024-06-01 | MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | Resolved |
| 2023-12-01 | MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | 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.
Montana City Mercantile Hardware Cafe: frequently asked questions
Who runs Montana City Mercantile Hardware Cafe?
Montana City Mercantile Hardware Cafe (PWSID MT0004359) is a transient non-community water system privately owned. It is regulated by the MT state drinking water program.
How many people does Montana City Mercantile Hardware Cafe serve?
Montana City Mercantile Hardware Cafe reports serving 56 people through 1 service connection in Jefferson County, Montana.
Where does Montana City Mercantile Hardware Cafe 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 Montana City Mercantile Hardware Cafe 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 April 2026. 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 Montana City Mercantile Hardware Cafe'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 April 2026. For current results, consult EPA ECHO, or the MT state drinking water program.
Where can I find Montana City Mercantile Hardware Cafe's water quality report?
The annual Consumer Confidence Report requirement applies to community water systems. Montana City Mercantile Hardware Cafe 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 Jefferson County
| Water system | County | Population served | Type | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitehall Town of | Jefferson | 1,500 | Community | Groundwater |
| Boulder City of | Jefferson | 1,400 | Community | Groundwater |
| Jefferson Hills Wua | Jefferson | 780 | Community | Groundwater |
| Lewis and Clark Caverns Visitor Center | Jefferson | 615 | Transient non-community | Groundwater under influence of surface water |
| Jefferson City South Rest Stop | Jefferson | 600 | Transient non-community | Groundwater |
| Montana City School Dist 27 | Jefferson | 534 | 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, “Montana City Mercantile Hardware Cafe, PWSID MT0004359, Montana”, https://aquacensus.com/water-systems/montana/montana-city-mercantile-hardware-cafe-mt0004359 (data as of October 1, 2026).