Public water system · SD4600528
ActiveBear Country USA
At a glance
Bear Country USA (PWSID SD4600528) is an active transient non-community water system in Pennington County, South Dakota. It reports serving 1,021 people through 7 service connections. Its primary water source is groundwater, and EPA lists it as privately owned. Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, none is health-based, and the most recent began in June 2004.
Dataset updated . Source: EPA SDWIS/ECHO public records.
Population served
1,021
Service connections
7
Primary source
GW
Groundwater
System type
TNCWS
Transient non-community water system
System record
How does Bear Country USA compare with other water systems in Pennington County?
By EPA's size categories, Bear Country USA is a small system (501 to 3,300 people). Pennington County has 150 active public water systems. Its population served is roughly in line with the county average of 930 people per system, and accounts for 0.7% of the 139,467 people reported by systems filed under the county. Across South Dakota, the 699 active systems average 1,387 people each. Nationally, the average active transient non-community water system reports serving 144 people, so Bear Country USA is about 7.1 times that figure.
What does “transient non-community water system” mean?
A transient non-community water system serves places where people do not stay long, such as gas stations and campgrounds, and regularly serves at least 25 people a day for at least 60 days a year. South Dakota has 173 active transient non-community water systems, 25% of the state's 699 active systems. Groundwater means the system draws its water from wells or springs fed by underground aquifers. 431 South Dakota systems (62%) list groundwater as their primary source.
Who owns and regulates Bear Country USA?
EPA lists Bear Country USA as privately owned. 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. 134 of the 150 active systems in Pennington County (89%) are also privately owned.
Does Bear Country USA have drinking water violations?
Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, none is health-based, and the most recent began in June 2004. The violations listed here began between August 2002 and June 2004. By type: 8 monitoring and reporting and 4 public notice, recordkeeping or other. The contaminant or rule involved most often is Total coliform bacteria (TCR) (8 of them). EPA lists 12 as resolved. 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.
| Began | Violation | Contaminant or rule | Health-based | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-06-07 | Public notice, recordkeeping or otherPublic Notification Violation for NPDWR Violation · code 75 | Public Noticecode 7500 | No | Resolved |
| 2003-12-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Major (TCR) · code 23 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | No | Resolved |
| 2003-11-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Minor (TCR) · code 24 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | No | Resolved |
| 2003-10-04 | Public notice, recordkeeping or otherPublic Notification Violation for NPDWR Violation · code 75 | Public Noticecode 7500 | No | Resolved |
| 2003-10-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Minor (TCR) · code 24 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | No | Resolved |
| 2003-09-09 | Public notice, recordkeeping or otherPublic Notification Violation for NPDWR Violation · code 75 | Public Noticecode 7500 | No | Resolved |
| 2003-07-05 | Public notice, recordkeeping or otherPublic Notification Violation for NPDWR Violation · code 75 | Public Noticecode 7500 | No | Resolved |
| 2003-07-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Minor (TCR) · code 24 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | No | Resolved |
| 2003-06-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Minor (TCR) · code 24 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | No | Resolved |
| 2003-05-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Major (TCR) · code 23 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | No | Resolved |
| 2002-09-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Major (TCR) · code 23 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | No | Resolved |
| 2002-08-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Major (TCR) · code 23 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | 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.
Bear Country USA: frequently asked questions
Who runs Bear Country USA?
Bear Country USA (PWSID SD4600528) is a transient non-community water system privately owned. It is regulated by the SD state drinking water program.
How many people does Bear Country USA serve?
Bear Country USA reports serving 1,021 people through 7 service connections in Pennington County, South Dakota.
Where does Bear Country USA 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 Bear Country USA 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 June 2004. 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 Bear Country USA'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, none is health-based, and the most recent began in June 2004. For current results, consult EPA ECHO, or the SD state drinking water program.
Where can I find Bear Country USA's water quality report?
The annual Consumer Confidence Report requirement applies to community water systems. Bear Country USA is a 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 Pennington County
| Water system | County | Population served | Type | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rapid City | Pennington | 72,009 | Community | Surface water |
| Box Elder | Pennington | 14,000 | Community | Groundwater |
| Rapid Valley Sanitary District | Pennington | 11,408 | Community | Surface water |
| Ellsworth Afb | Pennington | 9,100 | Community | Purchased surface water |
| Nps-Mount Rushmore National Memorial | Pennington | 4,100 | Non-transient non-community | Groundwater |
| Colonial Pine Hills Sanitary Distric | Pennington | 1,200 | 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, “Bear Country USA, PWSID SD4600528, South Dakota”, https://aquacensus.com/water-systems/south-dakota/bear-country-usa-sd4600528 (data as of October 1, 2026).