Fountain, CO Water Quality (ZIP 80817)

Quick Answers

Is ZIP 80817 tap water safe to drink? Water for ZIP 80817 shows high PFAS contamination. EPA testing found a peak of 1,300 ppt, above the EPA's 4 ppt enforceable limit. A reverse osmosis or certified PFAS filter is strongly recommended.

What filter should I use in 80817? A reverse osmosis system (NSF/ANSI 58) removes 90%+ of PFAS, lead, and arsenic. For smaller households, an NSF-53 certified pitcher (Clearly Filtered, ZeroWater) works. Standard Brita cartridges are not certified for PFAS.

ZIP 80817 Water Quality Summary

EPA testing has detected PFAS "forever chemicals" in the water systems serving ZIP 80817 (Fountain, CO). Monitoring found a peak of 1,300 ppt across 3 systems, averaging 15.6 ppt over 9 detected compounds.

Contamination Level: HIGH – High contamination – multiple PFAS compounds detected at levels significantly above EPA safety thresholds.

Top Detected Compounds in ZIP 80817

• PFOS: 1,300 ppt (exceeds the EPA 4 ppt limit)
• PFHXS: 590 ppt (exceeds the EPA 10 ppt limit)
• PFBS: 150 ppt
• PFOA: 90 ppt (exceeds the EPA 4 ppt limit)
• PFHPA: 70 ppt (exceeds the EPA 10 ppt limit)

Lead in ZIP 80817 Water

EPA Lead and Copper Rule testing recorded 66 lead samples for the systems serving 80817, with a 90th-percentile high of 0.0081 mg/L (within the EPA 0.015 mg/L action level). There is no safe level of lead for children; homes built before 1986 should use a certified NSF/ANSI 53 lead filter.

EPA Violations Affecting ZIP 80817

The water systems serving 80817 have 3 health-based EPA Safe Drinking Water Act violations on record, including Surface Water Treatment Rule, Combined Radium (226+228), Haloacetic Acids (HAA5). A health-based violation means a contaminant exceeded its federal limit or required treatment was not applied.

About the Data

Source: EPA UCMR5 monitoring (2023-2025), Lead and Copper Rule samples, and SDWIS violation records tied to the water system that serves 80817 in Fountain, CO.

Beyond water: other exposures in Fountain, CO

Drinking water is one exposure route. These are the other federal datasets that cover ZIP 80817 and El Paso County, CO.

Radon risk in El Paso County, CO

The EPA places El Paso County, CO in Zone 1 - the EPA's highest-risk category, where the predicted average indoor radon level is above 4 pCi/L. Zone maps predict the radon potential of an area from geology and existing indoor readings - they do not describe any individual home. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer among people who have never smoked, and the only way to know your own level is a test kit.

Lead paint risk in El Paso County, CO

Census figures show 37% of homes in El Paso County, CO were built before 1980, and 6% before 1950. Lead-based paint was banned for residential use in 1978, so older housing stock is the strongest available proxy for lead-paint exposure. This is a statistic about the county's housing, not a test of any particular property - if your home predates 1980, a lead swab test is the way to check.

Air quality in El Paso County, CO

Modelled annual fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) for El Paso County, CO averages 4.8 µg/m³, within the EPA's annual PM2.5 standard of 9 µg/m³. PM2.5 is the pollution fraction small enough to reach deep into the lungs. These are CDC modelled estimates for the county as a whole, not a reading taken at this ZIP code.

Industrial releases near 80817

EPA Toxics Release Inventory data for 2023 records 1 reporting facility within about five miles of 80817, together reporting roughly 162,605 pounds of on-site chemical releases that year. TRI covers facilities above federal reporting thresholds, so smaller sources are not included, and a reported release is not the same as a measured concentration in air or water.