Public water system · MT0003279
ActivePaola Water Commission Essex
At a glance
Paola Water Commission Essex (PWSID MT0003279) is an active transient non-community water system in Flathead County, Montana. It reports serving 27 people through 34 service connections. Its primary water source is groundwater, and EPA lists it as privately owned. EPA's records list 11 violations for this system; none is health-based, and the most recent began in September 2020.
Dataset updated . Source: EPA SDWIS/ECHO public records.
Population served
27
Service connections
34
Primary source
GW
Groundwater
System type
TNCWS
Transient non-community water system
System record
How does Paola Water Commission Essex compare with other water systems in Flathead County?
By EPA's size categories, Paola Water Commission Essex is a very small system (500 people or fewer). Flathead County has 327 active public water systems. Its population served is well below the county average of 324 people per system, and accounts for less than 0.1% of the 105,781 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 Paola Water Commission Essex is well 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 Paola Water Commission Essex?
EPA lists Paola Water Commission Essex 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. 263 of the 327 active systems in Flathead County (80%) are also privately owned.
Does Paola Water Commission Essex have drinking water violations?
EPA's records list 11 violations for this system; none is health-based, and the most recent began in September 2020. The violations listed here began between January 1993 and September 2020. By type: 10 monitoring and reporting and 1 monitoring. The contaminant or rule involved most often is Total coliform bacteria (TCR) (7 of them). EPA lists 11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-09-01 | MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | Resolved |
| 2020-07-20 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Source Water (GWR) · code 34 | E. colicode 3014 | No | Resolved |
| 2015-08-13 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Source Water (GWR) · code 34 | E. colicode 3014 | No | Resolved |
| 2005-10-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Major (TCR) · code 23 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | No | Resolved |
| 2004-07-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Major (TCR) · code 23 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | No | Resolved |
| 2000-10-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Major (TCR) · code 23 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | No | Resolved |
| 1998-10-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Major (TCR) · code 23 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | No | Resolved |
| 1996-08-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Major (TCR) · code 23 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | No | Resolved |
| 1996-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Major (TCR) · code 23 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | No | Resolved |
| 1995-12-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Major (TCR) · code 23 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | No | Resolved |
| 1993-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Nitratecode 1040 | No | Resolved |
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.
Paola Water Commission Essex: frequently asked questions
Who runs Paola Water Commission Essex?
Paola Water Commission Essex (PWSID MT0003279) is a transient non-community water system privately owned. It is regulated by the MT state drinking water program.
How many people does Paola Water Commission Essex serve?
Paola Water Commission Essex reports serving 27 people through 34 service connections in Flathead County, Montana.
Where does Paola Water Commission Essex 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 Paola Water Commission Essex have any drinking water violations?
EPA's records list 11 violations for this system; none is health-based, and the most recent began in September 2020. 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 Paola Water Commission Essex'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 September 2020. For current results, consult EPA ECHO, or the MT state drinking water program.
Where can I find Paola Water Commission Essex's water quality report?
The annual Consumer Confidence Report requirement applies to community water systems. Paola Water Commission Essex 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 Flathead County
| Water system | County | Population served | Type | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kalispell Public Works | Flathead | 25,000 | Community | Groundwater |
| Whitefish City of | Flathead | 10,418 | Community | Surface water |
| Flathead County Water and Sewer | Flathead | 7,775 | Community | Groundwater |
| Bigfork County Water and Sewer | Flathead | 6,100 | Community | Groundwater |
| Columbia Falls City of | Flathead | 4,450 | Community | Groundwater |
| Ridge Run | Flathead | 3,500 | 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, “Paola Water Commission Essex, PWSID MT0003279, Montana”, https://aquacensus.com/water-systems/montana/paola-water-commission-essex-mt0003279 (data as of October 1, 2026).