Public water system · WA5312400
ActiveCheney City of
At a glance
City of Cheney (PWSID WA5312400) is an active community water system in Spokane County, Washington. It reports serving 16,954 people through 5,773 service connections. Its primary water source is groundwater, and EPA lists it as owned by a local government. Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, one is health-based, and the most recent began in January 2025.
Dataset updated . Source: EPA SDWIS/ECHO public records.
Population served
16,954
Service connections
5,773
Primary source
GW
Groundwater
System type
CWS
Community water system
System record
How does City of Cheney compare with other water systems in Spokane County?
By EPA's size categories, City of Cheney is a large system (10,001 to 100,000 people). Spokane County has 163 active public water systems. Its population served is about 4.4 times the county average of 3,871 people per system, and accounts for 2.7% of the 631,008 people reported by systems filed under the county. Across Washington, the 4,705 active systems average 2,172 people each. Nationally, the average active community water system reports serving 6,703 people, so City of Cheney is about 153% above 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. Washington has 2,392 active community water systems, 51% 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 City of Cheney?
EPA lists City of Cheney as owned by a local government. The WA state drinking water program is its primacy agency, the regulator with primary enforcement responsibility for the system under the Safe Drinking Water Act. 55 of the 163 active systems in Spokane County (34%) are also owned by a local government.
Does City of Cheney have drinking water violations?
Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, one is health-based, and the most recent began in January 2025. The violations listed here began between October 1979 and January 2025. By type: 10 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) (3 of them). EPA lists 8 as archived and 4 as resolved. 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. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-01-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Nitratecode 1040 | No | Resolved |
| 2017-07-01 | Public notice, recordkeeping or otherConsumer Confidence Report Complete Failure to Report · code 71 | Consumer Confidence Rulecode 7000 | No | Resolved |
| 2014-07-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27 | Haloacetic acids (HAA5)code 2456 | No | Resolved |
| 2014-07-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring and Reporting (DBP) · code 27 | Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)code 2950 | No | Resolved |
| 1992-02-01 | Contaminant level above the legal limitMaximum Contaminant Level Violation, Monthly (TCR) · code 22 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | Yes | Archived |
| 1992-02-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Minor (TCR) · code 24 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | No | Archived |
| 1991-11-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Routine Minor (TCR) · code 24 | Total coliform bacteria (TCR)code 3100 | No | Archived |
| 1979-10-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Nitratecode 1040 | No | Archived |
| 1979-10-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Mercurycode 1035 | No | Archived |
| 1979-10-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Cadmiumcode 1015 | No | Archived |
| 1979-10-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Seleniumcode 1045 | No | Archived |
| 1979-10-01 | Monitoring and reportingMonitoring, Regular · code 03 | Chromiumcode 1020 | No | Archived |
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.
City of Cheney: frequently asked questions
Who runs City of Cheney?
City of Cheney (PWSID WA5312400) is a community water system owned by a local government. It is regulated by the WA state drinking water program.
How many people does City of Cheney serve?
City of Cheney reports serving 16,954 people through 5,773 service connections in Spokane County, Washington.
Where does City of Cheney 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 City of Cheney have any drinking water violations?
Of the 12 most recent violations in EPA's records, one is health-based, and the most recent began in January 2025. 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 City of Cheney'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, one is health-based, and the most recent began in January 2025. For current results, consult the system's annual water quality report, EPA ECHO, or the WA state drinking water program.
Where can I find City of Cheney's water quality report?
As a community water system, City of Cheney 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 Spokane County
| Water system | County | Population served | Type | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spokane City of | Spokane | 346,138 | Community | Groundwater |
| Whitworth Water District 2 | Spokane | 26,883 | Community | Groundwater |
| Vera Water & Power | Spokane | 24,692 | Community | Groundwater |
| Consolidated Irrig Dist 19 System 2 | Spokane | 21,220 | Community | Groundwater |
| Spo Co Water Dist 3 Sys 1 | Spokane | 19,035 | Community | Groundwater |
| Modern Electric Water Co | Spokane | 18,487 | 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, “Cheney City of, PWSID WA5312400, Washington”, https://aquacensus.com/water-systems/washington/cheney-city-of-wa5312400 (data as of October 1, 2026).