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City of Cawker City

What EPA’s and Kansas’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
447 people
Connections
399
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Cawker City, KS
County
Mitchell
Owner
Local government
Hardness
Very hard
The ZIP code it serves

67430

The short answer

2 results are above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic, above the health goal. No health-based violations on file since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Arsenic, uranium, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride, chromium (total) and nitrate: Kansas’s own results, samples taken from Feb. 4, 2020 to June 8, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the health goal2

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

8.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 7.3 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 8.8 ppb, in 2020: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. Its highest single sample was 9.7 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 7.3 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 8.4 ppb, in 2017.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”

Uranium

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

12ppb

Highest yearly average, 2021

Averaged by year, the highest was 12 ppb, in 2021: below EPA’s legal limit of 30 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. That is the only year on file.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits4

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

59.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 59 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 59.8 ppb, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 94 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 59 ppb. EPA recorded no violation for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at this utility since 2020. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 94 ppb, in 2018.

What handles it

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

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

21.3ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 16 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 21.3 ppb, in 2024, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 24 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 16 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 23 ppb, in 2018.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.27ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.27 ppm, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. Its highest single sample was 0.27 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in any of its two samples. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.26 ppm, in 2014.

What handles it

Chromium (total)

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 0.7 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.8 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. Its highest single sample was 1.6 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 0.7 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 1.6 ppb, in 2017.

What handles it

2 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • 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: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction

    For: Arsenic

    Other certifiers’ wording: Arsenic (III) (50 ppb influent level)

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction, Uranium

    For: Arsenic, Uranium

    Other certifiers’ wording: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=300 ppb Reduction; Arsenic (V) (300 ppb influent level)

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

The best reverse osmosis systems, ranked

Hardness

Very hard, typically 433 mg/L (25.3 grains per gallon), across 2 sampling points, 2017 to 2026.

Hardness is calcium and magnesium. EPA sets no limit for it: it shows up as scale on fixtures and in water heaters, and as soap that won’t lather. USGS calls water above 60 mg/L moderately hard, above 120 hard and above 180 very hard.

Softeners compared at 25.3 grains per gallon, salt includedSoftener or salt-free conditioner?Kansas water hardness, utility by utility

Violations since 2016

No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016. There are 3 monitoring or reporting violations: a sample missed, late or not reported.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Arsenic, uranium, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride, chromium (total) and nitrate results here are Kansas’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. City of Cawker City’s own annual report, which it must send you every year, has 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; Kansas’s results run from Feb. 4, 2020 to June 8, 2026.

Testing your own tap

City of Cawker City’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 Kansas certifies.

The 2 labs Kansas certifies closest to the area City of Cawker City serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • LandIntel Solutions, LLC

    Scandia, KS · about 39 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (785) 335-2054

  • Pace Analytical Services, Inc. - Salina

    Salina, KS · about 64 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate

    (913) 599-5665

All 47 certified labs for Kansas

Sources

PWSID KS2012303. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Mitchell County

All Kansas utilities

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