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Panama Water Works

What EPA’s and Iowa’s records show in this utility’s water: nitrate, arsenic and other regulated chemicals; lead and copper; and violations since 2016, with the certification that handles each result.

Serves
235 people
Connections
129
Water source
Groundwater bought from another system
Based in
Panama, IA
County
Shelby
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

51562

The short answer

1 result is above the limit’s level with no violation recorded. The worst: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), above the limit’s level, no violation. No health-based violations on file since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Copper: EPA’s file records a utility’s copper only when it exceeds the action level. The last here was 2.0 ppm, for the period ending Dec. 31, 2005. None since is on file, so it is not counted as a current finding.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5) and nitrate: Iowa’s own results, samples taken from July 20, 2020 to Aug. 17, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Fluoride, arsenic and chromium (total): EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from March 18, 2013 to March 18, 2013. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.

Above the limit’s level, no violation recorded1

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Above the limit’s level, no violation

85.5ppb

Highest yearly average, 2022 to 2026

2026 average: 16 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 85.5 ppb, in 2025, above EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 86 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 16 ppb. EPA judges this limit on running averages at each sampling point, and recorded no violation for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at this utility since 2020. Results like these with no violation often include water sampled before treatment or blending; the utility’s annual report says what reaches the tap. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 58 ppb, in 2019.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”

Below EPA’s limits2

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

17ppb

Highest yearly average, 2022 to 2026

2026 average: 4.7 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 17 ppb, in 2025, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 18 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 4.7 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 28 ppb, in 2012.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.3ppm

Highest yearly average, 2013

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.3 ppm, in 2013, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. That is the only year on file.

What handles it

4 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Arsenic
  • Chromium (total)
  • Lead
  • Nitrate

What handles it

A certification covers specific claims, not a whole standard. Look for these claims on the certifier’s listing, not the box. Wording varies a little: NSF writes “Lead Reduction,” WQA just “Lead.”

  • NSF/ANSI 53

    Claim: Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

    Other certifiers’ wording: VOC Reduction

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claim: Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

At the tap, or for the whole house?

These come with the water itself, so a whole-house system certified for the same claims treats every tap and shower. A filter at the tap treats drinking water for much less. How whole-house systems compare.

Filters with those claims on a certifier’s listing

Disclosure: TapBuff earns a commission if you buy through some links on this page. It does not change which standard or filter we name. As an Amazon Associate, TapBuff earns from qualifying purchases. How TapBuff makes money

Compare five-year costs

Violations since 2016

No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5) and nitrate results here are Iowa’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Fluoride, arsenic and chromium (total) come from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Panama Water Works’s own annual report, which it must send you every year, has newer results for those and the contaminants this page does not show.

  • Your own plumbing. Lead results are the 90th percentile across homes the utility samples. Your home’s service line, solder and fixtures decide yours. A certified lab test is the only way to know.

  • What it means for your health. This page reports what the records show and EPA’s limits and goals; it is not medical advice. If you are worried about a health effect, talk to a doctor or your local health department.

  • Anything after the latest data. SDWIS data is from 2026 Q3; UCMR 5 didn’t sample this utility; Iowa’s results run from July 20, 2020 to Aug. 17, 2026; EPA’s compliance samples are from March 18, 2013 to March 18, 2013.

Testing your own tap

Panama Water Works’s results are for the water it sends out. What your own service line, solder and fixtures add shows up only in a test of your tap, by a lab Iowa certifies.

The 3 labs Iowa certifies closest to the area Panama Water Works serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Midwest Laboratories

    Omaha, NE · about 47 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics

    (402) 334-7770

  • Analytical & Consulting Services

    Sergeant Bluff, IA · about 62 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate

    (712) 943-4888

  • Siouxland District Health Department

    Sioux City, IA · about 70 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, minerals and other inorganics

    (712) 234-3908

State Hygienic Laboratory at the University of Iowa: Through the Grants-to-Counties program, private well owners in participating counties can have their water tested for total coliform bacteria and nitrate. Start with the county sanitarian at your county health department. No cost in a participating county. The Grants-to-Counties Program, State Hygienic Lab at the University of Iowa.

All 36 certified labs for Iowa

Sources

PWSID IA8355025. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Shelby County

All Iowa utilities

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