City of Chetopa
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
- 921 people
- Connections
- 629
- Water source
- Surface water
- Based in
- Chetopa, KS
- County
- Labette
- Owner
- Local government
- Hardness
- Very hard
The ZIP code it serves
The short answer
1 result is above EPA’s legal limit. The worst: Haloacetic acids (HAA5), above the legal limit. 8 health-based violations since 2016.
What was found
Haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, fluoride, chromium (total) and arsenic: Kansas’s own results, samples taken from Feb. 18, 2020 to Aug. 10, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.
Above the legal limit1
Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
Forms or is added in treatment
49ppb
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026
2026 average: 38.3 ppb
Averaged by year, the highest was 49 ppb, in 2024, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 60 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 38.3 ppb. EPA judges this limit at each sampling point, and recorded a violation for haloacetic acids (HAA5) at this utility in 2020. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 75.3 ppb, in 2019, and EPA recorded violations in 2012, 2016, 2017 and 2019.
What handles it
No certification claim covers this compound yet.
Below EPA’s limits4
Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)
Forms or is added in treatment
58ppb
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026
2026 average: 55.3 ppb
Averaged by year, the highest was 58 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 85 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 55.3 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 72.8 ppb, in 2019.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
Nitrate
Comes from the source
0.64ppm
Highest sample; found in 5 of 14
2026 average: 0.26 ppm
The highest sample, in 2024, was 0.64 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 0.26 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 1.5 ppm, in 2012.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”
Fluoride
Forms or is added in treatment
0.18ppm
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026
2026: not found
Averaged by year, the highest was 0.18 ppm, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.19 ppm, in 2019.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Fluoride Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Fluoride”
Chromium (total)
Comes from the source
1.0ppb
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026
2026: not found
Averaged by year, the highest was 1.0 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 3.0 ppb, in 2018.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Chromium (Hexavalent) Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Chromium Reduction”
2 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
- Arsenic
- Lead
Hardness
Very hard, 195 mg/L (11.4 grains per gallon), at its one sampling point, 2015 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.
Violations since 2016
| Contaminant or rule | Type | Period | Measured | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule | One cloudiness reading was above the maximum allowed.EPA: Single Turbidity Exceed (Enhanced SWTR) | Aug. 1, 2023 to Aug. 31, 2023 | 1.7 NTU | Resolved |
| Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) | The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average | April 1, 2020 to June 30, 2020 | 0.066 MG/L | Resolved |
| Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) | The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average | Jan. 1, 2020 to March 31, 2020 | 0.075 MG/L | Resolved |
| Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) | The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average | Oct. 1, 2019 to Dec. 31, 2019 | 0.075 MG/L | Resolved |
| Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) | The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average | Jan. 1, 2017 to March 31, 2017 | 0.066 MG/L | Resolved |
| Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) | The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average | Oct. 1, 2016 to Dec. 31, 2016 | 0.066 MG/L | Resolved |
| Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) | The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average | July 1, 2016 to Sept. 30, 2016 | 0.067 MG/L | Resolved |
| Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) | The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average | April 1, 2016 to June 30, 2016 | 0.072 MG/L | Resolved |
| Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 3 monitoring or reporting violations not shown. | ||||
What this report can’t tell you
Everything else. Haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, fluoride, chromium (total) and arsenic results here are Kansas’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. City of Chetopa’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. 18, 2020 to Aug. 10, 2026.
Testing your own tap
The lab Kansas certifies closest to the area City of Chetopa serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Pace Analytical Services, Inc - Frontenac
Frontenac, KS · about 32 miles
Certified for bacteria
Sources
- EPA UCMR 5 occurrence data, file of Oct. 15, 2026
- EPA SDWA bulk download (SDWIS federal data), 2026 Q3
- Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Public Water Supply Section, results from Jan. 2, 2020 to Sept. 16, 2026, read Oct. 18, 2026
- EPA Six-Year Review 4 compliance monitoring data, 2012 to 2019, file of Feb. 5, 2024
- Certified labs: Kansas Department of Health and Environment, drinking water labs, as listed in TNI LAMS, read Oct. 13, 2026; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer
- Hardness: Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Public Water Supply Section, results from April 29, 2015 to May 18, 2026, read Oct. 18, 2026
- Limits and goals: each contaminant’s page, with its EPA source.
- How this page is built: methodology.
PWSID KS2009905. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.
What to do next
- Read up on Haloacetic acids (HAA5)What each one does to health, where it comes from, and the certification claim that addresses it.About Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
- Get the utility’s own reportCity of Chetopa must send you a water quality report every year. It covers contaminants this page does not show.How to read it
- Test your own tap for leadYour service line, solder and fixtures decide the lead at your faucet, not the utility’s average.Lead in your water: what to do
- Decide if you want a filter at allA filter for taste or chlorine is a preference, not a need. The standards say what each kind can do.NSF/ANSI standards, decoded