Oak Harbor, WA Water Quality (ZIP 98277)

Quick Answers

Is ZIP 98277 tap water safe to drink? The system serving 98277 is not reported as having detected PFAS in the latest EPA UCMR5 cycle, but review the lead and regulated-contaminant results below and consider a certified filter if your home predates 1986.

What filter should I use in 98277? Match the filter to the data: reverse osmosis handles PFAS, lead, and arsenic together; NSF-53 pitchers cover the taps you drink from. A basic Brita pitcher will not remove PFAS.

ZIP 98277 Water Quality Summary

Recent EPA UCMR5 monitoring shows no PFAS detections for the system serving 98277 in Oak Harbor, WA. Lead and regulated-contaminant results below still warrant a look.

Contamination Level: NONE – No PFAS detected in recent testing for the systems serving this ZIP code.

Lead in ZIP 98277 Water

EPA Lead and Copper Rule testing recorded 62 lead samples for the systems serving 98277, with a 90th-percentile high of 0.0195 mg/L (above 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 98277

The water systems serving 98277 have 38 health-based EPA Safe Drinking Water Act violations on record, including Nitrite, Haloacetic Acids (HAA5). A health-based violation means a contaminant exceeded its federal limit or required treatment was not applied.

About the Data

These figures come from EPA UCMR5 (2023-2025) plus Lead and Copper Rule and SDWIS records for the public water system serving ZIP 98277. UCMR5 is the most comprehensive national drinking water survey in US history.

Beyond water: other exposures in Oak Harbor, WA

Drinking water is one exposure route. These are the other federal datasets that cover ZIP 98277 and Island County, WA.

Radon risk in Island County, WA

The EPA places Island County, WA in Zone 3 - the EPA's lowest-risk category, with a predicted average indoor radon level below 2 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 Island County, WA

Census figures show 36% of homes in Island County, WA 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 Island County, WA

Modelled annual fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) for Island County, WA averages 7 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.

Superfund sites near 98277

There is 1 EPA Superfund (National Priorities List) site within about five miles of 98277: Naval Air Station, Whidbey Island (Ault Field) (about 2.7 miles). Distances are measured from the ZIP code's geographic centre, so the distance from a specific address will differ. Proximity to a listed site is a fact about location - it is not itself evidence of exposure.

Industrial releases near 98277

EPA Toxics Release Inventory data for 2023 records 1 reporting facility within about five miles of 98277, together reporting roughly 36,867 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.