Short answer: In the 2023 records we hold for Box Elder, no listed result is above a legal limit, but 6 health-based violations are on record (EPA SDWIS). Also worth knowing: lithium sits above a screening level. 2 substances were detected and 29 were tested and not detected. The water is from Box Elder, serving 14,000 residents.
No measured result is above a legal limit; lithium sits above a screening level, and past health-based violations for Gross alpha particles and Combined radium-226/228 are on record.
What we found
4 detected results, by distance from their limit
Each bar runs to the named reference; the tick marks it. Open a row for five layers: measured, compared, meaning, where it matters, what to do.
LiLithiumAbove screening · Screening level10 µg/L EPA health reference level (screening, not a legal limit)14µg/L▾
① · Measured
14 µg/L, sampled 2023-03-13 to 2023-10-02. EPA UCMR 5.
② · Compared
10 µg/L EPA health reference level (screening, not a legal limit).
③ · Meaning
Detected at up to 14 µg/L (above the 10 µg/L EPA health reference level; a screening level, not a legal limit).
④ · Where it matters
Where it enters is not in this record.
⑤ · What to do
Test your own tap first. To reduce it: Depends on the contaminant (The certifier's listing for each named contaminant).
BOX ELDER (EPA PWSID SD4600046) delivers groundwater to 14,000 residents. This report reflects 29 individual PFAS result(s) from the source UCMR5 observations and the latest Lead & Copper Rule 90th-percentile result. Water hardness and disinfectant type are pending the utility's own annual report.
Track record
6health-based violations in the last 10 years
From EPA SDWIS. Counted once per contaminant per year, as in the Track record score. All 9 EPA filings are listed below.
Not in this recordDisinfection by-products weren't monitored in this dataset
No result is not a pass. Your utility's annual water quality report may list them, and a certified lab test covers your own tap.
Health-based violations, last 10 years
Every filing is listed; the Track record score counts at most one per contaminant per year.
The record describes water leaving treatment and samples across the system. Pipes, solder and fixtures inside a building can add lead the record can’t see, especially in older buildings with lead service lines.
Each card names which Box Elder findings its current certification covers, and which it doesn't.
As an Amazon Associate, PurityMap earns from qualifying purchases. A product appears here only when a current certification record covers at least one identified concern; every concern stays listed. The retail offer is looked up afterwards and never changes which products appear or their order. Affiliate disclosure.
Water Pitcher
Brita Elite Water Filter Pitcher
✓Lead: eligible, evidence match
–Not established: Lithium
Not suitable for (3)
Treating every tap in the home
A whole-home hard-water or scale problem
All PFAS: its evidence covers only the compounds it names
Your path: I live in an older buildingLead from plumbing is the main question
Older buildings may have lead service lines, solder or fixtures. Box Elder’s record shows lead at 2 µg/L (15 µg/L federal action level). Test first-draw water, then filter if needed.
Your path: My water tastes of chlorineThe disinfectant is not in this record
Most utilities keep chlorine or chloramine in the pipes. A carbon filter certified for taste and odor reduces either; your utility can tell you which it uses.
PurityMap does not give a safe/unsafe verdict; it shows what the public records measured. For Box Elder, no regulated PFAS were detected in EPA's 2024 testing; the lead 90th-percentile result was 2 µg/L against the 15 µg/L action level; 2 health-based violations are on record (Gross alpha particles and Combined radium-226/228). BOX ELDER (PWSID SD4600046) has a Purity Score of 88/100 (confidence: moderate), assessed at the water-system level and computed only from contaminants that were measured. Water can change in your own pipes, so a certified test is the only way to know what comes out of your tap. What we found →
Who provides tap water in Box Elder?+
BOX ELDER (PWS ID SD4600046) is the public water system on record for Box Elder, South Dakota, serving about 14,000 people. Confirm the utility on your water bill before acting on a specific finding. Water utility →
Where does Box Elder get its drinking water?+
Groundwater (primary source of record in EPA SDWIS). Water utility →
Are PFAS "forever chemicals" in Box Elder's water?+
None of the 29 PFAS in EPA's UCMR 5 testing (2023-03-13 to 2023-10-02) was detected. "Not detected" means below the lab's reporting limit, not proven zero. What we found →
Is there lead in Box Elder's tap water?+
BOX ELDER's most recent lead 90th-percentile result (2023) was 2 µg/L, below the 15 µg/L action level. That figure comes from sampled homes; lead usually enters from a building's own pipes and fixtures, so only a test at your tap tells you what you drink. Your household →
Has Box Elder's water system had violations?+
The federal SDWIS record lists 2 health-based violations for BOX ELDER within about the last ten years: Gross alpha particles (2025) and Combined radium-226/228 (2024). The findings above show each one's status. At a glance →
What does the latest Box Elder water report show?+
PurityMap's current record for Box Elder holds 33 findings: 3 above a reference, 1 detected within the reference and 29 not detected. Each finding links to its dated public record; a parameter that was never monitored is shown as pending, not as a pass. Records →
EPA SDWIS, EPA UCMR 5 and utility reports, each dated and linked.
02Normalize
Units converted to one basis; a non-detect kept distinct from zero.
03Classify
Each result tagged by reference type: MCL, action level, screening level or aesthetic.
04Compare to the named reference
Every value sits against its own reference, never a blended one.
05Score
Measured subjects summarised at the water-system level; an open health-based violation caps the score.
06Match treatment
Treatment is matched to what was found; a product is called certified only when its current certification names it.
What the Purity Score means: a summary of this water system’s published record, capped while a health-based violation is open. It is not a test of any tap. BOX ELDER · PWSID SD4600046 · Purity Score 88/100 (Good) · Confidence: moderate · Assessed at the water-system level
