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City of Sabetha

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
2,519 people
Connections
1,324
Water source
Surface water
Based in
Sabetha, KS
County
Nemaha
Owner
Local government
Hardness
Hard
The ZIP code it serves

66534

The short answer

2 results are above the health goal. The worst: Lead, above the health goal. 1 health-based violation since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2011 to 2023.

Arsenic, haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM), fluoride, chromium (total) and nitrate: Kansas’s own results, samples taken from Jan. 14, 2020 to Aug. 11, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the health goal2

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

2.7ppb

90th percentile, 2021 to 2023

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 2.7 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

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

1.2ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026, one sample: 1.1 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.2 ppb, in 2023: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 1.1 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 2.7 ppb, in 2012.

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

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

58.5ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 33.7 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 58.5 ppb, in 2024, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 74 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 33.7 ppb. EPA recorded no violation for haloacetic acids (HAA5) at this utility since 2020. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 42.5 ppb, in 2014.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

69.5ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 38.7 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 69.5 ppb, in 2024, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 120 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 38.7 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 74 ppb, in 2015.

What handles it

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

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.24ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.24 ppm, in 2020, 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 0.7 ppm, in 2014.

What handles it

Chromium (total)

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

1.0ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.0 ppb, in 2023, 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 1.9 ppb, in 2017.

What handles it

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

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

    For: Lead, Arsenic

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

  • NSF/ANSI 58

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

    For: Lead, Arsenic

    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 water filters for lead, ranked

The best reverse osmosis systems, ranked

Hardness

Hard, 170 mg/L (9.9 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.

Softeners compared at 9.9 grains per gallon, salt includedSoftener or salt-free conditioner?Kansas water hardness, utility by utility

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
Total organic carbonNot enough organic matter was removed. It reacts with disinfectant to form byproducts.EPA: Treatment Technique Precursor RemovalJuly 1, 2017 to Sept. 30, 2017—Resolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 7 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Arsenic, haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM), 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 Sabetha’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 Jan. 14, 2020 to Aug. 11, 2026.

Testing your own tap

City of Sabetha’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 lab Kansas certifies closest to the area City of Sabetha 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 75 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (785) 239-7516

All 47 certified labs for Kansas

Sources

PWSID KS2013101. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Nemaha County

All Kansas utilities

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