Public water system · OK2000208

Active

Cherokee

At a glance

Cherokee (PWSID OK2000208) is an active community water system in Alfalfa County, Oklahoma. It reports serving 1,630 people through 975 service connections. Its primary water source is groundwater under influence of surface water, and EPA lists it as owned by a local government. Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, one is health-based, and the most recent began in January 2025.

Dataset updated October 2026 . Source: EPA SDWIS/ECHO public records.

Population served

1,630

Service connections

975

Primary source

Groundwater under influence of surface water

System type

CWS

Community water system

System record

PWSIDOK2000208

System typeCommunity water system

Activity statusActive

Population served1,630

Service connections975

Primary water sourceGroundwater under influence of surface water

Owner typeLocal government

Primacy agencyOK state drinking water program

City served—

StateOklahoma

ZIP—

CountyAlfalfa County

How does Cherokee compare with other water systems in Alfalfa County?

By EPA's size categories, Cherokee is a small system (501 to 3,300 people). Alfalfa County has 11 active public water systems, and Cherokee is the largest of them by population served. Its population served is about 4 times the county average of 409 people per system, and accounts for 36% of the 4,497 people reported by systems filed under the county. Across Oklahoma, the 1,254 active systems average 2,907 people each. Nationally, the average active community water system reports serving 6,703 people, so Cherokee 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. Oklahoma has 864 active community water systems, 69% of the state's 1,254 active systems. Groundwater under the influence of surface water is well or spring water that the regulator has found to be affected by nearby surface water, so it is regulated under the surface-water treatment rules. 7 Oklahoma systems (0.6%) list groundwater under influence of surface water as their primary source.

Who owns and regulates Cherokee?

EPA lists Cherokee as owned by a local government. The OK state drinking water program is its primacy agency, the regulator with primary enforcement responsibility for the system under the Safe Drinking Water Act. 9 of the 11 active systems in Alfalfa County (82%) are also owned by a local government.

Does Cherokee have drinking water violations?

Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, one is health-based, and the most recent began in January 2025. The violations listed here began between October 2015 and January 2025. By type: 9 monitoring and reporting, 2 public notice, recordkeeping or other and 1 required treatment not met. The contaminant or rule involved most often is Lead and Copper Rule (4 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
2018-04-01	Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27	Chlorinecode 0999	No	Resolved
2017-11-09	Required treatment not metOCCT/SOWT Study/Recommendation · code 57	Lead and Copper Rulecode 5000	Yes	Resolved
2017-08-01	Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Turbidity (Enhanced SWTR) · code 38	Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rulecode 0300	No	Resolved
2017-07-01	Monitoring and reportingFollow-up Or Routine LCR Tap M/R · code 52	Lead and Copper Rulecode 5000	No	Resolved
2017-04-01	Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Turbidity (Enhanced SWTR) · code 38	Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rulecode 0300	No	Resolved
2016-07-01	Monitoring and reportingWater Quality Parameter M/R · code 53	Lead and Copper Rulecode 5000	No	Resolved
2016-07-01	Public notice, recordkeeping or otherConsumer Confidence Report Complete Failure to Report · code 71	Consumer Confidence Rulecode 7000	No	Resolved
2016-04-01	Public notice, recordkeeping or otherSample Siting Plan Errors (RTCR) · code 5A	Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000	No	Resolved
2016-01-01	Monitoring and reportingWater Quality Parameter M/R · code 53	Lead and Copper Rulecode 5000	No	Resolved
2015-10-01	Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27	Chlorinecode 0999	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.

Cherokee: frequently asked questions

Who runs Cherokee?

Cherokee (PWSID OK2000208) is a community water system owned by a local government. It is regulated by the OK state drinking water program.

How many people does Cherokee serve?

Cherokee reports serving 1,630 people through 975 service connections in Alfalfa County, Oklahoma.

Where does Cherokee get its water?

EPA SDWIS lists this system's primary water source as groundwater under influence of surface water. Groundwater under the influence of surface water is well or spring water that the regulator has found to be affected by nearby surface water, so it is regulated under the surface-water treatment rules.

Does Cherokee 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 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 Cherokee'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 January 2025. For current results, consult the system's annual water quality report, EPA ECHO, or the OK state drinking water program.

Where can I find Cherokee's water quality report?

As a community water system, Cherokee 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 Alfalfa County

Water system	County	Population served	Type	Source
Alfalfa Co Rws & Swmd #1 North	Alfalfa	600	Community	Groundwater
Alfalfa Co Rws & Swmd #1	Alfalfa	550	Community	Groundwater
Helena	Alfalfa	443	Community	Groundwater
Carmen Public Works Authority	Alfalfa	355	Community	Groundwater
Goltry	Alfalfa	268	Community	Purchased groundwater
Jet	Alfalfa	230	Community	Groundwater

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, “Cherokee, PWSID OK2000208, Oklahoma”, https://aquacensus.com/water-systems/oklahoma/cherokee-ok2000208 (data as of October 1, 2026).