Public water system · MT0000935
ActiveSmith Valley School Lower
At a glance
Smith Valley School Lower (PWSID MT0000935) is an active non-transient non-community water system in Flathead County, Montana. It reports serving 280 people through 3 service connections. Its primary water source is groundwater, and EPA lists it as owned by a local government. EPA's records list 4 violations for this system; 1 is health-based, and the most recent began in August 2020.
Dataset updated . Source: EPA SDWIS/ECHO public records.
Population served
280
Service connections
3
Primary source
GW
Groundwater
System type
NTNCWS
Non-transient non-community water system
System record
How does Smith Valley School Lower compare with other water systems in Flathead County?
By EPA's size categories, Smith Valley School Lower is a very small system (500 people or fewer). Flathead County has 327 active public water systems. Its population served is about 13% below the county average of 324 people per system, and accounts for 0.3% 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 non-transient non-community water system reports serving 430 people, so Smith Valley School Lower is about 35% below that figure.
What does “non-transient non-community water system” mean?
A non-transient non-community water system regularly serves at least 25 of the same people for more than six months a year, but not where they live. Schools, factories, office buildings and hospitals with their own supply are typical examples. Montana has 319 active non-transient non-community water systems, 13% 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 Smith Valley School Lower?
EPA lists Smith Valley School Lower 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. 38 of the 327 active systems in Flathead County (12%) are also owned by a local government.
Does Smith Valley School Lower have drinking water violations?
EPA's records list 4 violations for this system; 1 is health-based, and the most recent began in August 2020. The violations listed here began between October 2004 and August 2020. By type: 2 monitoring and reporting, 1 monitoring and 1 contaminant level above the legal limit. The contaminant or rule involved most often is Total coliform bacteria (TCR) (2 of them). EPA lists 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-08-01 | MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | Resolved |
| 2020-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Asbestoscode 1094 | No | Archived |
| 2006-06-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Major (TCR) · code 23 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | No | Resolved |
| 2004-10-01 | Contaminant level above the legal limitMaximum Contaminant Level Violation, Monthly (TCR) · code 22 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | Yes | Resolved |
All 4 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.
Smith Valley School Lower: frequently asked questions
Who runs Smith Valley School Lower?
Smith Valley School Lower (PWSID MT0000935) is a non-transient non-community water system owned by a local government. It is regulated by the MT state drinking water program.
How many people does Smith Valley School Lower serve?
Smith Valley School Lower reports serving 280 people through 3 service connections in Flathead County, Montana.
Where does Smith Valley School Lower 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 Smith Valley School Lower have any drinking water violations?
EPA's records list 4 violations for this system; 1 is health-based, and the most recent began in August 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 Smith Valley School Lower'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 4 violations for this system; 1 is health-based, and the most recent began in August 2020. For current results, consult EPA ECHO, or the MT state drinking water program.
Where can I find Smith Valley School Lower's water quality report?
The annual Consumer Confidence Report requirement applies to community water systems. Smith Valley School Lower is a non-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, “Smith Valley School Lower, PWSID MT0000935, Montana”, https://aquacensus.com/water-systems/montana/smith-valley-school-lower-mt0000935 (data as of October 1, 2026).