Great Plains Development Authority

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: 182 people
Connections: 9
Water source: Surface water
Based in: Parsons, KS
County: Labette
Owner: Private
Hardness: Very hard

The short answer

Nothing in EPA’s and Kansas’s records for this utility is above a health goal. That covers nitrate, arsenic and other regulated chemicals, plus lead and copper, not everything. No health-based violations on file since 2016.

What was found

Haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, fluoride, chromium (total) and arsenic: Kansas’s own results, samples taken from Jan. 27, 2020 to Aug. 3, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Below EPA’s limits5

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

48.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

Averaged by year, the highest was 48.8 ppb, in 2026, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 59 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 75 ppb, in 2015.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

50.7ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 30.5 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 50.7 ppb, in 2025, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 110 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its six samples averaged 30.5 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 82 ppb, in 2015, and EPA recorded a violation in 2012.

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

0.85ppm

Highest sample; found in 7 of 15

2026 average: 0.27 ppm

The highest sample, in 2020, was 0.85 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 0.27 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 1.2 ppm, in 2018.

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

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 0.25 ppm, in 2012.

What handles it

NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Fluoride Reduction”
NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Fluoride”

Chromium (total)

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

1.5ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.5 ppb, in 2021, 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 3.6 ppb, in 2017.

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, typically 235 mg/L (13.7 grains per gallon), across 2 sampling points, 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 13.7 grains per gallon, salt included Softener or salt-free conditioner?Kansas water hardness, utility by utility

Violations since 2016

No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016. There are 12 monitoring or reporting violations: a sample missed, late or not reported.

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. Great Plains Development Authority’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. 27, 2020 to Aug. 3, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Great Plains Development Authority’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.

No lab Kansas certifies is within 75 miles of the area Great Plains Development Authority serves on the state’s list. Some take samples by mail; the state’s page lists them all.

All 47 certified labs for Kansas