Public water system · SD4600697
ActivePalmer Gulch Lodge/Mt Rushmore Koa
At a glance
Palmer Gulch Lodge/Mt Rushmore Koa (PWSID SD4600697) is an active transient non-community water system in Pennington County, South Dakota. It reports serving 850 people through 468 service connections. Its primary water source is groundwater, and EPA lists it as privately owned. EPA's records list 4 violations for this system; 1 is health-based, and the most recent began in May 2004.
Dataset updated . Source: EPA SDWIS/ECHO public records.
Population served
850
Service connections
468
Primary source
GW
Groundwater
System type
TNCWS
Transient non-community water system
System record
How does Palmer Gulch Lodge/Mt Rushmore Koa compare with other water systems in Pennington County?
By EPA's size categories, Palmer Gulch Lodge/Mt Rushmore Koa 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 0.6% 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 Palmer Gulch Lodge/Mt Rushmore Koa is about 5.9 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 Palmer Gulch Lodge/Mt Rushmore Koa?
EPA lists Palmer Gulch Lodge/Mt Rushmore Koa 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 Palmer Gulch Lodge/Mt Rushmore Koa have drinking water violations?
EPA's records list 4 violations for this system; 1 is health-based, and the most recent began in May 2004. The violations listed here began between July 1980 and May 2004. By type: 2 monitoring and reporting, 1 public notice, recordkeeping or other 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 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-05-02 | Public notice, recordkeeping or otherPublic Notification Violation for NPDWR Violation · code 75 | Public Noticecode 7500 | No | Resolved |
| 2003-04-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Major (TCR) · code 23 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | No | Resolved |
| 1992-05-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Major (TCR) · code 23 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | No | Archived |
| 1980-07-02 | Contaminant level above the legal limitMaximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average · code 02 | Nitratecode 1040 | Yes | Archived |
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.
Palmer Gulch Lodge/Mt Rushmore Koa: frequently asked questions
Who runs Palmer Gulch Lodge/Mt Rushmore Koa?
Palmer Gulch Lodge/Mt Rushmore Koa (PWSID SD4600697) is a transient non-community water system privately owned. It is regulated by the SD state drinking water program.
How many people does Palmer Gulch Lodge/Mt Rushmore Koa serve?
Palmer Gulch Lodge/Mt Rushmore Koa reports serving 850 people through 468 service connections in Pennington County, South Dakota.
Where does Palmer Gulch Lodge/Mt Rushmore Koa 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 Palmer Gulch Lodge/Mt Rushmore Koa have any drinking water violations?
EPA's records list 4 violations for this system; 1 is health-based, and the most recent began in May 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 Palmer Gulch Lodge/Mt Rushmore Koa'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 May 2004. For current results, consult EPA ECHO, or the SD state drinking water program.
Where can I find Palmer Gulch Lodge/Mt Rushmore Koa's water quality report?
The annual Consumer Confidence Report requirement applies to community water systems. Palmer Gulch Lodge/Mt Rushmore Koa 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 |
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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, “Palmer Gulch Lodge/Mt Rushmore Koa, PWSID SD4600697, South Dakota”, https://aquacensus.com/water-systems/south-dakota/palmer-gulch-lodge-mt-rushmore-koa-sd4600697 (data as of October 1, 2026).