Public water system · MT0000305
ActivePlains Town of
At a glance
Town of Plains (PWSID MT0000305) is an active community water system in Sanders County, Montana. It reports serving 1,700 people through 649 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, none is health-based, and the most recent began in January 2025.
Dataset updated . Source: EPA SDWIS/ECHO public records.
Population served
1,700
Service connections
649
Primary source
GW
Groundwater
System type
CWS
Community water system
System record
How does Town of Plains compare with other water systems in Sanders County?
By EPA's size categories, Town of Plains is a small system (501 to 3,300 people). Sanders County has 44 active public water systems, and Town of Plains is the 2nd-largest of them by population served. Its population served is about 8.1 times the county average of 209 people per system, and accounts for 18% 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 Town of Plains 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 Town of Plains?
EPA lists Town of Plains 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 Town of Plains have drinking water violations?
Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, none is health-based, and the most recent began in January 2025. The violations listed here began between January 1999 and January 2025. By type: 12 monitoring and reporting. The contaminant or rule involved most often is Total coliform bacteria (TCR) (2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27 | Haloacetic acids (HAA5)code 2456 | No | Archived |
| 2025-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27 | Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)code 2950 | No | Archived |
| 2006-04-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Minor (TCR) · code 24 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | No | Resolved |
| 2005-11-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Major (TCR) · code 23 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | No | Resolved |
| 2001-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Nitrate-Nitritecode 1038 | No | Resolved |
| 2001-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Nitrate-Nitritecode 1038 | No | Resolved |
| 1999-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Aldicarb sulfoxidecode 2043 | No | Resolved |
| 1999-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Hexachlorocyclopentadienecode 2042 | No | Resolved |
| 1999-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Oxamylcode 2036 | No | Resolved |
| 1999-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | 2,4-Dcode 2105 | No | Resolved |
| 1999-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | 2,4,5-TP (Silvex)code 2110 | No | Resolved |
| 1999-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Heptachlor epoxidecode 2067 | 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.
Town of Plains: frequently asked questions
Who runs Town of Plains?
Town of Plains (PWSID MT0000305) is a community water system owned by a local government. It is regulated by the MT state drinking water program.
How many people does Town of Plains serve?
Town of Plains reports serving 1,700 people through 649 service connections in Sanders County, Montana.
Where does Town of Plains 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 Town of Plains 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 January 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 Town of Plains' 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 January 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 Town of Plains' water quality report?
As a community water system, Town of Plains 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 |
| Hot Springs Municipal Water | Sanders | 600 | 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, “Plains Town of, PWSID MT0000305, Montana”, https://aquacensus.com/water-systems/montana/plains-town-of-mt0000305 (data as of October 1, 2026).