Public water system · NE3104105
ActiveBroken Bow, City of
At a glance
City of Broken Bow (PWSID NE3104105) is an active community water system in Custer County, Nebraska. It reports serving 3,568 people through 1,707 service connections. Its primary water source is groundwater, and EPA lists it as owned by a local government. EPA's records list 6 violations for this system; 5 are health-based, and the most recent began in October 2012.
Dataset updated . Source: EPA SDWIS/ECHO public records.
Population served
3,568
Service connections
1,707
Primary source
GW
Groundwater
System type
CWS
Community water system
System record
How does City of Broken Bow compare with other water systems in Custer County?
By EPA's size categories, City of Broken Bow is a medium system (3,301 to 10,000 people). Custer County has 16 active public water systems, and City of Broken Bow is the largest of them by population served. Its population served is about 7.5 times the county average of 476 people per system, and accounts for 47% of the 7,623 people reported by systems filed under the county. Across Nebraska, the 1,226 active systems average 1,472 people each. Nationally, the average active community water system reports serving 6,703 people, so City of Broken Bow is about half of 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. Nebraska has 599 active community water systems, 49% of the state's 1,226 active systems. Groundwater means the system draws its water from wells or springs fed by underground aquifers. 1,095 Nebraska systems (89%) list groundwater as their primary source.
Who owns and regulates City of Broken Bow?
EPA lists City of Broken Bow as owned by a local government. The NE state drinking water program is its primacy agency, the regulator with primary enforcement responsibility for the system under the Safe Drinking Water Act. 10 of the 16 active systems in Custer County (63%) are also owned by a local government.
Does City of Broken Bow have drinking water violations?
EPA's records list 6 violations for this system; 5 are health-based, and the most recent began in October 2012. The violations listed here began between July 1992 and October 2012. By type: 5 contaminant level above the legal limit and 1 monitoring and reporting. The contaminant or rule involved most often is Trichloroethylene (3 of them). EPA lists 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012-10-01 | Contaminant level above the legal limitMaximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average · code 02 | Arseniccode 1005 | Yes | Resolved |
| 2003-07-01 | Contaminant level above the legal limitMaximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average · code 02 | Trichloroethylenecode 2984 | Yes | Resolved |
| 2003-04-01 | Contaminant level above the legal limitMaximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average · code 02 | Trichloroethylenecode 2984 | Yes | Resolved |
| 1999-09-01 | Contaminant level above the legal limitMaximum Contaminant Level Violation, Monthly (TCR) · code 22 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | Yes | Resolved |
| 1993-01-01 | Contaminant level above the legal limitMaximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average · code 02 | Trichloroethylenecode 2984 | Yes | Archived |
| 1992-07-01 | Monitoring and reportingInitial Tap Sampling for Pb and Cu · code 51 | Lead and Copper Rulecode 5000 | No | Resolved |
All 6 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.
City of Broken Bow: frequently asked questions
Who runs City of Broken Bow?
City of Broken Bow (PWSID NE3104105) is a community water system owned by a local government. It is regulated by the NE state drinking water program.
How many people does City of Broken Bow serve?
City of Broken Bow reports serving 3,568 people through 1,707 service connections in Custer County, Nebraska.
Where does City of Broken Bow 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 City of Broken Bow have any drinking water violations?
EPA's records list 6 violations for this system; 5 are health-based, and the most recent began in October 2012. 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 City of Broken Bow'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 6 violations for this system; 5 are health-based, and the most recent began in October 2012. For current results, consult the system's annual water quality report, EPA ECHO, or the NE state drinking water program.
Where can I find City of Broken Bow's water quality report?
As a community water system, City of Broken Bow 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 Custer County
| Water system | County | Population served | Type | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victoria Springs Sra - Ng & Pc | Custer | 725 | Transient non-community | Groundwater |
| Arnold, Village of | Custer | 592 | Community | Groundwater |
| Callaway, Village of | Custer | 563 | Community | Groundwater |
| Sargent, City of | Custer | 550 | Community | Groundwater |
| Ansley, Village of | Custer | 459 | Community | Groundwater |
| Merna, Village of | Custer | 363 | 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, “Broken Bow, City of, PWSID NE3104105, Nebraska”, https://aquacensus.com/water-systems/nebraska/broken-bow-city-of-ne3104105 (data as of October 1, 2026).