Yellowstone County, MT
drinking water quality
171,583 residents · 119 public water systems · 12 ZIP codes
EPA sampled 7 of 119 public water systems here, together serving about 147,013 people. Last sampled 8/21/2023.
Health-based violations
Separately from PFAS, EPA records 58 health-based violations across 24 of the county’s water systems since 2020, the most recent in 2025. They involved contaminant 1038, contaminant 0200, contaminant 0300, lead and copper, total coliform, contaminant 0700.
What this means
PFAS are industrial chemicals that EPA describes as breaking down only very slowly in the environment. In April 2024 EPA set the first enforceable national limits: 4 ng/L for PFOA and PFOS, 10 ng/L for PFHxS, PFNA and GenX.
These figures are county-level and come from EPA’s sampling of public water systems. They describe the worst result found in the county, not what comes out of any particular tap — that depends on which system serves the address, and on the plumbing in the building. A private well is not covered by this programme at all.
ZIP codes in Yellowstone County
59002 · 59006 · 59015 · 59024 · 59037 · 59044 · 59079 · 59088 · 59101 · 59102 · 59105 · 59106
Readings are county-level, so every ZIP here shares the figure above. Search your ZIP on the map to see it in context.