Public water system · SD4602094

Active

Whispering Willows

At a glance

Whispering Willows (PWSID SD4602094) is an active community water system in Pennington County, South Dakota. It reports serving 64 people through 35 service connections. Its primary water source is purchased groundwater, and EPA lists it as privately owned. Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, 4 are health-based, and the most recent began in April 2022.

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

Population served

Service connections

Primary source

GWP

Purchased groundwater

System type

CWS

Community water system

System record

PWSIDSD4602094

System typeCommunity water system

Activity statusActive

Population served64

Service connections35

Primary water sourcePurchased groundwater

Owner typePrivate

Primacy agencySD state drinking water program

City servedBlack Hawk

StateSouth Dakota

ZIP57718

CountyPennington County

How does Whispering Willows compare with other water systems in Pennington County?

By EPA's size categories, Whispering Willows is a very small system (500 people or fewer). Pennington County has 150 active public water systems. Its population served is well below the county average of 930 people per system, and accounts for less than 0.1% 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 community water system reports serving 6,703 people, so Whispering Willows 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 Whispering Willows?

EPA lists Whispering Willows 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 Whispering Willows have drinking water violations?

Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, 4 are health-based, and the most recent began in April 2022. The violations listed here began between January 2006 and April 2022. By type: 4 monitoring and reporting, 2 monitoring, 2 public notice, recordkeeping or other, 2 required treatment not met and 2 contaminant level above the legal limit. The contaminant or rule involved most often is Chlorine (4 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
2022-04-01	MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A	Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000	No	Resolved
2022-02-09	Public notice, recordkeeping or otherPublic Notification Violation for NPDWR Violation · code 75	Public Noticecode 7500	No	Resolved
2022-01-01	Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27	Chlorinecode 0999	No	Resolved
2021-10-01	Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27	Chlorinecode 0999	No	Resolved
2021-07-01	Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27	Chlorinecode 0999	No	Resolved
2021-07-01	Public notice, recordkeeping or otherConsumer Confidence Report Complete Failure to Report · code 71	Consumer Confidence Rulecode 7000	No	Resolved
2021-01-01	MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A	Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000	No	Resolved
2021-01-01	Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27	Chlorinecode 0999	No	Resolved
2020-12-01	Required treatment not metTreatment Technique No Certif. Operator · code 12	Stage 1 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rulecode 0400	Yes	Resolved
2015-02-01	Required treatment not metTreatment Technique No Certif. Operator · code 12	Stage 1 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rulecode 0400	Yes	Resolved
2006-04-01	Contaminant level above the legal limitMaximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average · code 02	Nitratecode 1040	Yes	Resolved
2006-01-01	Contaminant level above the legal limitMaximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average · code 02	Nitratecode 1040	Yes	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.

Whispering Willows: frequently asked questions

Who runs Whispering Willows?

Whispering Willows (PWSID SD4602094) is a community water system privately owned. It is regulated by the SD state drinking water program.

How many people does Whispering Willows serve?

Whispering Willows reports serving 64 people through 35 service connections in Pennington County, South Dakota.

Where does Whispering Willows 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 Whispering Willows have any drinking water violations?

Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, 4 are health-based, and the most recent began in April 2022. 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 Whispering Willows' 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, 4 are health-based, and the most recent began in April 2022. For current results, consult the system's annual water quality report, EPA ECHO, or the SD state drinking water program.

Where can I find Whispering Willows' water quality report?

As a community water system, Whispering Willows 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 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, “Whispering Willows, PWSID SD4602094, South Dakota”, https://aquacensus.com/water-systems/south-dakota/whispering-willows-sd4602094 (data as of October 1, 2026).