Public water system · SD4600004

Active

Alcester

At a glance

Alcester (PWSID SD4600004) is an active community water system in Union County, South Dakota. It reports serving 820 people through 445 service connections. Its primary water source is purchased groundwater, and EPA lists it as owned by a local government. EPA's records list 11 violations for this system; none is health-based, and the most recent began in October 2024.

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

Population served

820

Service connections

445

Primary source

GWP

Purchased groundwater

System type

CWS

Community water system

System record

PWSIDSD4600004

System typeCommunity water system

Activity statusActive

Population served820

Service connections445

Primary water sourcePurchased groundwater

Owner typeLocal government

Primacy agencySD state drinking water program

City servedAlcester

StateSouth Dakota

ZIP57001

CountyUnion County

How does Alcester compare with other water systems in Union County?

By EPA's size categories, Alcester is a small system (501 to 3,300 people). Union County has 8 active public water systems, and Alcester is the 6th-largest of them by population served. Its population served is about half of the county average of 1,761 people per system, and accounts for 5.8% of the 14,087 people reported by systems filed under the county. Across South Dakota, the 699 active systems average 1,387 people each. Nationally, the average active community water system reports serving 6,703 people, so Alcester 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. South Dakota has 510 active community water systems, 73% of the state's 699 active systems. Purchased groundwater means the system buys groundwater from another public water system rather than drawing its own. 100 South Dakota systems (14%) list purchased groundwater as their primary source.

Who owns and regulates Alcester?

EPA lists Alcester as owned by a local government. The SD state drinking water program is its primacy agency, the regulator with primary enforcement responsibility for the system under the Safe Drinking Water Act. 6 of the 8 active systems in Union County (75%) are also owned by a local government.

Does Alcester have drinking water violations?

EPA's records list 11 violations for this system; none is health-based, and the most recent began in October 2024. The violations listed here began between July 1976 and October 2024. By type: 9 monitoring and reporting and 2 public notice, recordkeeping or other. The contaminant or rule involved most often is Lead and Copper Rule (3 of them). EPA lists 7 as resolved and 4 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
2024-10-01	Monitoring and reportingFollow-up Or Routine LCR Tap M/R · code 52	Lead and Copper Rulecode 5000	No	Resolved
2023-10-01	Monitoring and reportingFollow-up Or Routine LCR Tap M/R · code 52	Lead and Copper Rulecode 5000	No	Resolved
2023-08-01	Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27	Haloacetic acids (HAA5)code 2456	No	Resolved
2023-08-01	Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27	Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)code 2950	No	Resolved
2017-11-10	Public notice, recordkeeping or otherFailure to Notify Other PWS · code 73	Groundwater Rulecode 0700	No	Resolved
2000-07-01	Public notice, recordkeeping or otherConsumer Confidence Report Complete Failure to Report · code 71	Consumer Confidence Rulecode 7000	No	Resolved
1999-06-01	Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Major (TCR) · code 23	Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100	No	Archived
1996-01-01	Monitoring and reportingFollow-up Or Routine LCR Tap M/R · code 52	Lead and Copper Rulecode 5000	No	Resolved
1993-07-01	Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Major (TCR) · code 23	Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100	No	Archived
1976-07-01	Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03	Gross alpha (excluding radon and uranium)code 4000	No	Archived
1976-07-01	Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03	Combined Radium (-226 and -228)code 4010	No	Archived

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.

Alcester: frequently asked questions

Who runs Alcester?

Alcester (PWSID SD4600004) is a community water system owned by a local government. It is regulated by the SD state drinking water program.

How many people does Alcester serve?

Alcester reports serving 820 people through 445 service connections in Union County, South Dakota.

Where does Alcester get its water?

EPA SDWIS lists this system's primary water source as purchased groundwater. Purchased groundwater means the system buys groundwater from another public water system rather than drawing its own.

Does Alcester have any drinking water violations?

EPA's records list 11 violations for this system; none is health-based, and the most recent began in October 2024. 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 Alcester'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 October 2024. For current results, consult the system's annual water quality report, EPA ECHO, or the SD state drinking water program.

Where can I find Alcester's water quality report?

As a community water system, Alcester 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 Union County

Water system	County	Population served	Type	Source
Dakota Dunes Cid	Union	3,700	Community	Purchased groundwater under influence
North Sioux City	Union	3,042	Community	Groundwater
Beresford	Union	2,359	Community	Purchased groundwater
Elk Point	Union	2,124	Community	Groundwater
Clay Rws/South Union	Union	1,447	Community	Groundwater
Jefferson	Union	475	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, “Alcester, PWSID SD4600004, South Dakota”, https://aquacensus.com/water-systems/south-dakota/alcester-sd4600004 (data as of October 1, 2026).