Updated 2026-10-15
County water report

Steele County Water Quality

Steele County, Minnesota: one city report built from EPA and utility records. A county has many suppliers; each city shows the system that serves it.

Across the county's systems

Highest result for each contaminant

One row per contaminant: the highest result any system in the county reported, against its limit. Open a row for the systems behind it.

LithiumOwatonna10 µg/L EPA health reference level (screening, not a legal limit) · US EPA9.9 µg/L
  • Owatonna9.9 µg/LSample date: 2024-05-13 to 2025-12-17
Lead (90th percentile)Owatonna15 µg/L federal action level · US EPA2 µg/L
  • Owatonna2 µg/LMonitoring period: 2023–2025
29 PFAS tested, none detected in this systemShow

Tested in this system: Owatonna

  • 11-Chloroeicosafluoro-3-oxaundecane-1-sulfonic acid (11Cl-PF3OUdS)
  • 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorodecane sulfonic acid (8:2 FTS)
  • 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (4:2 FTS)
  • 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (6:2 FTS)
  • 4,8-Dioxa-3H-perfluorononanoic acid (ADONA)
  • 9-Chlorohexadecafluoro-3-oxanone-1-sulfonic acid (9Cl-PF3ONS)
  • Hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA) (GenX chemicals)
  • N-ethyl perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetic acid (NEtFOSAA)
  • N-methyl perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetic acid (NMeFOSAA)
  • Nonafluoro-3,6-dioxaheptanoic acid (NFDHA)
  • Perfluoro (2-ethoxyethane) sulfonic acid (PFEESA)
  • Perfluoro-3-methoxypropanoic acid (PFMPA)
  • Perfluoro-4-methoxybutanoic acid (PFMBA)
  • Perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS)
  • Perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA)
  • Perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA)
  • Perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoA)
  • Perfluoroheptanesulfonic acid (PFHpS)
  • Perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA)
  • Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS)
  • Perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA)
  • Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA)
  • Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS)
  • Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)
  • Perfluoropentanesulfonic acid (PFPeS)
  • Perfluoropentanoic acid (PFPeA)
  • Perfluorotetradecanoic acid (PFTA)
  • Perfluorotridecanoic acid (PFTrDA)
  • Perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnA)
1 city

Cities ranked by the records

Showing 1 of 1 cities · scores are system-level, not tap tests

Ranked by the Purity Score of each city's main water system, highest first. Scores belong to water systems; there is no county score. The score is computed only from contaminants measured in the published EPA record, so this ranks the record, not which city's water is safest. How the score works.

PFAS in Steele CountyPFAS detected in 0 of 1 city; none had a sample above a 2024 EPA limit
4.0 ng/L federal MCL · PFOS, ng/LPFAS in Minnesota
Lead

0of 1 city above the 15 µg/L action level

Based on each system's 90th-percentile result. Lead from household plumbing isn't in this record.

Lead in Minnesota
Who supplies the county

Largest water systems

  1. OwatonnaOwatonna · MN1740007
    26,430 served
Questions

Frequently asked

How does Steele County tap water compare across cities?

PurityMap ranks 1 city in Steele County by the Purity Score of each city's main water system, computed only from contaminants measured in the published EPA record. Scores belong to water systems, not to cities. The highest published score is Owatonna's main water system: Owatonna · PWSID MN1740007 · Purity Score 98 (Excellent) · Confidence: moderate · Assessed at the water-system level. The ranking compares the records, not which city's water is safest, and your own tap can differ with household plumbing.

How many Steele County cities had a PFAS sample above a 2024 EPA limit?

None of the 1 Steele County city report had a PFAS sample above a 2024 EPA limit in EPA's UCMR 5 testing. PFAS were detected below the limit in 0.

Is there lead in Steele County tap water?

Utilities report lead as a 90th-percentile result from home taps. 1 of 1 Steele County cities reported a value above zero, and none was above the 15 µg/L federal action level. Lead usually comes from a building's own pipes and fixtures, so only a test at your tap tells you what you drink.

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