Public water system · OR4195361
ActiveAlston Country Store
At a glance
Alston Country Store (PWSID OR4195361) is an active transient non-community water system in Columbia County, Washington. It reports serving 90 people through 1 service connection. 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 January 2026.
Dataset updated . Source: EPA SDWIS/ECHO public records.
Population served
90
Service connections
1
Primary source
GW
Groundwater
System type
TNCWS
Transient non-community water system
System record
How does Alston Country Store compare with other water systems in Columbia County?
By EPA's size categories, Alston Country Store is a very small system (500 people or fewer). Columbia County has 13 active public water systems, and Alston Country Store is the 6th-largest of them by population served. Its population served is well below the county average of 364 people per system, and accounts for 1.9% of the 4,729 people reported by systems filed under the county. Across Washington, the 4,705 active systems average 2,172 people each. Nationally, the average active transient non-community water system reports serving 144 people, so Alston Country Store is about 37% below 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. Washington has 1,913 active transient non-community water systems, 41% of the state's 4,705 active systems. Groundwater means the system draws its water from wells or springs fed by underground aquifers. 4,370 Washington systems (93%) list groundwater as their primary source.
Who owns and regulates Alston Country Store?
EPA lists Alston Country Store as privately owned. The OR state drinking water program is its primacy agency, the regulator with primary enforcement responsibility for the system under the Safe Drinking Water Act. 8 of the 13 active systems in Columbia County (62%) are also privately owned.
Does Alston Country Store have drinking water violations?
Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, none is health-based, and the most recent began in January 2026. The violations listed here began between January 2019 and January 2026. By type: 10 monitoring and 2 monitoring and reporting. The contaminant or rule involved most often is Revised Total Coliform Rule (10 of them). EPA lists 10 as resolved, 1 as archived and 1 as unaddressed. 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. Unaddressed means the violation is not resolved or archived and is not yet covered by formal enforcement.
| Began | Violation | Contaminant or rule | Health-based | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-01-01 | MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | Archived |
| 2025-06-01 | MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | Resolved |
| 2025-05-01 | MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | Resolved |
| 2024-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Nitratecode 1040 | No | Resolved |
| 2023-01-30 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Source Water (GWR) · code 34 | E. colicode 3014 | No | Unaddressed |
| 2022-12-01 | MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | Resolved |
| 2021-05-01 | MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | Resolved |
| 2020-04-01 | MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | Resolved |
| 2020-02-01 | MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | Resolved |
| 2019-11-01 | MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | Resolved |
| 2019-04-01 | MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | No | Resolved |
| 2019-01-01 | MonitoringMonitoring, Routine (RTCR) · code 3A | Revised Total Coliform Rulecode 8000 | 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.
Alston Country Store: frequently asked questions
Who runs Alston Country Store?
Alston Country Store (PWSID OR4195361) is a transient non-community water system privately owned. It is regulated by the OR state drinking water program.
How many people does Alston Country Store serve?
Alston Country Store reports serving 90 people through 1 service connection in Columbia County, Washington.
Where does Alston Country Store 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 Alston Country Store 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 January 2026. 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 Alston Country Store'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 January 2026. For current results, consult EPA ECHO, or the OR state drinking water program.
Where can I find Alston Country Store's water quality report?
The annual Consumer Confidence Report requirement applies to community water systems. Alston Country Store 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 Columbia County
| Water system | County | Population served | Type | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dayton Water Department | Columbia | 3,374 | Community | Groundwater |
| Bluewood Ski Area | Columbia | 532 | Transient non-community | Groundwater |
| Lewis & Clark Trail State Park | Columbia | 239 | Transient non-community | Groundwater |
| Starbuck City of | Columbia | 147 | Community | Groundwater |
| Camp Wooten State Park | Columbia | 131 | Transient non-community | Groundwater |
| Little Goose Dam | Columbia | 62 | Non-transient non-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, “Alston Country Store, PWSID OR4195361, Washington”, https://aquacensus.com/water-systems/washington/alston-country-store-or4195361 (data as of October 1, 2026).