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City of Paxico

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
212 people
Connections
104
Water source
Groundwater bought from another system
Based in
Paxico, KS
County
Wabaunsee
Owner
Local government
Hardness
Varies by source
The ZIP code it serves

66526

The short answer

2 results are above EPA’s legal limit, and 1 more is above the health goal. The worst: Nitrate, above the legal limit. 7 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2020 to 2022.

Nitrate, arsenic, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride and chromium (total): Kansas’s own results, samples taken from March 9, 2020 to Sept. 27, 2023, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the legal limit2

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Above the legal limit

14ppm

Highest sample; found in 12 of 12

2022 average: 11.1 ppm

From 2020 to 2022, six samples were above EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm, the highest 14 ppm in 2022. Six have no follow-up sample on file within 30 days. That was also the latest year on file, and its three samples averaged 11.1 ppm, above the limit. EPA recorded violations for nitrate at this utility in 2020, 2021 and 2022. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 11 ppm, in 2019, and EPA recorded a violation in 2019.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”

Copper

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the action level

1.4ppm

90th percentile, 2020 to 2022

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 1.4 ppm, above EPA’s action level of 1.3 ppm.

What handles it

Above the health goal1

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

3.0ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020

Averaged by year, the highest was 3.0 ppb, in 2020: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. That is the only year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 3.4 ppb, in 2015.

What handles it

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

Below EPA’s limits4

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

14ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023

2023, one sample: 12 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 14 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2023, the latest year on file, its one sample was 12 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 2.3 ppb, in 2017.

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

7.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023

Averaged by year, the highest was 7.8 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 3.1 ppb, in 2014.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.21ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.21 ppm, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. That is the only year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.16 ppm, in 2017.

What handles it

Chromium (total)

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

2.9ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020

Averaged by year, the highest was 2.9 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. That is the only year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 1.0 ppb, in 2015.

What handles it

One compound tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Lead

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: Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge), Copper Reduction, Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction

    For: Nitrate, Copper, Arsenic

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

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction, Copper Reduction, Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction

    For: Nitrate, Copper, Arsenic

    Other certifiers’ wording: Nitrate; 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

Hardness

Moderately hard to very hard depending on the source, 120 to 440 mg/L (7 to 25.7 grains per gallon), across 2 sampling points, 2015 to 2022.

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, salt includedSoftener or salt-free conditioner?Kansas water hardness, utility by utility

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleJuly 1, 2022 to Sept. 30, 202211 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleJan. 1, 2022 to March 31, 202214 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleOct. 1, 2021 to Dec. 31, 202111 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleJuly 1, 2021 to Sept. 30, 202111 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleApril 1, 2021 to June 30, 202111 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleApril 1, 2020 to June 30, 202011 MG/LResolved
NitrateA sample was above the legal limit, for a contaminant judged one sample at a time.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Single SampleJan. 1, 2019 to Dec. 31, 201911 MG/LResolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Nitrate, arsenic, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride and chromium (total) results here are Kansas’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. City of Paxico’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 March 9, 2020 to Sept. 27, 2023.

Testing your own tap

City of Paxico’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 Paxico serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

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

    Fort Riley, KS · about 34 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (785) 239-7516

  • Johnson County Water Quality Laboratory

    Olathe, KS · about 70 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper

    (913) 715-6950

  • Olathe Environmental Laboratory

    Olathe, KS · about 70 miles

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

    (913) 971-8310

All 47 certified labs for Kansas

Sources

PWSID KS2019705. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Wabaunsee County

All Kansas utilities

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