Skip to content
TapBuff
ZIP

City of Lincoln

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
1,181 people
Connections
714
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Lincoln, KS
County
Lincoln
Owner
Local government
Hardness
Very hard
The ZIP code it serves

67455

The short answer

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

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 1997 to 2023.

Arsenic, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, fluoride, haloacetic acids (HAA5) and chromium (total): Kansas’s own results, samples taken from Jan. 6, 2020 to July 13, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Uranium: EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from Aug. 7, 2012 to Aug. 5, 2015. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.

Above the health goal3

Uranium

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

17ppb

Highest yearly average, 2012 to 2015

Averaged by year, the highest was 17 ppb, in 2015: below EPA’s legal limit of 30 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. Its highest single sample was 18 ppb. That was also the latest year on file.

What handles it

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

2.5ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 1.5 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 2.5 ppb, in 2023: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. Its highest single sample was 2.6 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 1.5 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 3.5 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”

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

3.1ppb

90th percentile, 2021 to 2023

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 3.1 ppb, below EPA’s action level of 15 ppb. The action level drops to 10 ppb on Nov. 1, 2027. EPA’s health goal for lead is zero.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits5

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

70ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

Averaged by year, the highest was 70 ppb, in 2026, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 110 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. 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 100 ppb, in 2015.

What handles it

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

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

6.4ppm

Highest sample; found in 20 of 20

2026 average: 6.2 ppm

The highest sample, in 2026, was 6.4 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. That was also the latest year on file, and its four samples averaged 6.2 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 7.0 ppm, in 2015.

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

Below EPA’s limits

1.6ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 0.94 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.6 ppm, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. Its highest single sample was 3.0 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its eight samples averaged 0.94 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 1.1 ppm, in 2019.

What handles it

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

21.3ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 18.5 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 21.3 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 26 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 18.5 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 18.8 ppb, in 2019.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Chromium (total)

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

4.0ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 1.4 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 4.0 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. Its highest single sample was 4.6 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 1.4 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 1.6 ppb, in 2017.

What handles it

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

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

    For: Arsenic, Lead

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

  • NSF/ANSI 58

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

    For: Uranium, Arsenic, Lead

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

At the tap, or for the whole house?

Lead and copper usually come from pipes and fixtures inside or near your home. A whole-house system sits where water enters, so it cannot catch what your own plumbing adds after it. For those, the filter that counts is the one at the tap. 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

The best water filters for lead, ranked

Hardness

Very hard, typically 678 mg/L (39.6 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 39.6 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.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Arsenic, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, fluoride, haloacetic acids (HAA5) and chromium (total) results here are Kansas’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Uranium comes from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. City of Lincoln’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; Kansas’s results run from Jan. 6, 2020 to July 13, 2026; EPA’s compliance samples are from Aug. 7, 2012 to Aug. 5, 2015.

Testing your own tap

City of Lincoln’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 3 labs Kansas certifies closest to the area City of Lincoln serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Pace Analytical Services, Inc. - Salina

    Salina, KS · about 30 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate

    (913) 599-5665

  • LandIntel Solutions, LLC

    Scandia, KS · about 56 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (785) 335-2054

  • Irwin Army Community Hospital-Water Laboratory-PH-EH

    Fort Riley, KS · about 74 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (785) 239-7516

All 47 certified labs for Kansas

Sources

PWSID KS2010501. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Lincoln County

All Kansas utilities

What to do next