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City of Waterville

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
656 people
Connections
364
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Waterville, KS
County
Marshall
Owner
Local government
Hardness
Very hard
The ZIP code it serves

66548

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit, and 2 more are above the health goal. The worst: Nitrate, above the legal limit. 5 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Copper: EPA’s file records a utility’s copper only when it exceeds the action level. The last here was 2.4 ppm, for the period ending Dec. 31, 2015. None since is on file, so it is not counted as a current finding.

Nitrate, uranium, arsenic, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride and chromium (total): Kansas’s own results, samples taken from April 13, 2020 to Aug. 17, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the legal limit1

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Above the legal limit

13ppm

Highest sample; found in 29 of 29

2025, one sample: 7.0 ppm

From 2020 to 2021, six samples were above EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm, the highest 13 ppm in 2020. Six have no follow-up sample on file within 30 days. In 2025, the latest year on file, its one sample was 7.0 ppm. EPA recorded violations for nitrate at this utility in 2020 and 2021. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 9.7 ppm, in 2017.

What handles it

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

Above the health goal2

Uranium

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

12ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020

Averaged by year, the highest was 12 ppb, in 2020: 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

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

1.9ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2024

2024, one sample: 1.3 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.9 ppb, in 2020: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. Its highest single sample was 2.1 ppb. In 2024, the latest year on file, its one sample was 1.3 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 1.6 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”

Below EPA’s limits4

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

37ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

Averaged by year, the highest was 37 ppb, in 2026, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 35 ppb, in 2016.

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

11ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026, one sample: 9.0 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 11 ppb, in 2025, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 9.0 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 8.7 ppb, in 2015.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.26ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2024

2024, one sample: 0.25 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.26 ppm, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. Its highest single sample was 0.27 ppm. In 2024, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.25 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.3 ppm, in 2014.

What handles it

Chromium (total)

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

4.4ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2024

2024, one sample: 1.4 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 4.4 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. Its highest single sample was 4.5 ppb. In 2024, the latest year on file, its one sample was 1.4 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 3.0 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.
  • 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), Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction

    For: Nitrate, Arsenic

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

  • NSF/ANSI 58

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

    For: Nitrate, Uranium, Arsenic

    Other certifiers’ wording: Nitrate; 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 480 mg/L (28.1 grains per gallon), across 4 sampling points, 2015 to 2024.

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 28.1 grains per gallon, 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 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 SampleApril 1, 2021 to June 30, 202112 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, 2021 to March 31, 202113 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, 2020 to Dec. 31, 202012 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, 2020 to Dec. 31, 202012 MG/LResolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 4 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Nitrate, uranium, 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 Waterville’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 April 13, 2020 to Aug. 17, 2026.

Testing your own tap

City of Waterville’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 Waterville 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 40 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (785) 239-7516

  • LandIntel Solutions, LLC

    Scandia, KS · about 54 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (785) 335-2054

All 47 certified labs for Kansas

Sources

PWSID KS2011703. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Marshall County

All Kansas utilities

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