Marion Co RWD 4
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
- 1,398 people
- Connections
- 889
- Water source
- Groundwater bought from another system
- Based in
- Hillsboro, KS
- County
- Marion
- Owner
- Local government
- Hardness
- Very hard
The short answer
1 result is above EPA’s legal limit, and 1 more is above the health goal. The worst: Copper, above the action level. No health-based violations on file since 2016.
What handles itWhat was found
Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2016 to 2024.
Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and haloacetic acids (HAA5): Kansas’s own results, samples taken from July 6, 2020 to July 14, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.
Above the legal limit1
Copper
Comes from pipes, often your own
1.7ppm
90th percentile, 2024
In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 1.7 ppm, above EPA’s action level of 1.3 ppm.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Copper Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Copper Reduction”
Above the health goal1
Lead
Comes from pipes, often your own
1.3ppb
90th percentile, 2026
In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 1.3 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
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Lead Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Lead Reduction”
Below EPA’s limits2
Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)
Forms or is added in treatment
31ppb
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026
2026, one sample: 14 ppb
Averaged by year, the highest was 31 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 14 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 16 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
9.0ppb
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026
2026, one sample: 5.0 ppb
Averaged by year, the highest was 9.0 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 5.0 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 5.7 ppb, in 2015.
What handles it
No certification claim covers this compound yet.
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: Copper Reduction, Lead Reduction
For: Copper, Lead
- NSF/ANSI 58
Claims: Copper Reduction, Lead Reduction
For: Copper, Lead
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
PUR PLUS 11-Cup Pitcher (PPT111W)
Pitcher
- NSF listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 4, 2026
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 4, 2026
- IAPMO listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 4, 2026
Certified for: Copper, Lead
Culligan 10-Cup Pitcher with ZeroWater Technology (ZEROP10)
Pitcher
- IAPMO listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 9, 2026
Certified for: Copper, Lead
LifeStraw Home 7-Cup Glass Water Filter Pitcher
Pitcher
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 9, 2026
Certified for: Copper, Lead
Aquasana SmartFlow Reverse Osmosis (AQ-SFRO2)
Under-sink reverse osmosis
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 58NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 9, 2026
Certified for: Copper, Lead
Brondell Capella RC250 Reverse Osmosis System
Under-sink reverse osmosis
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 58NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 9, 2026
Certified for: Copper, Lead
Hardness
Very hard, 270 mg/L (15.8 grains per gallon), at its one sampling point, 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.
Violations since 2016
No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016. There are 8 monitoring or reporting violations: a sample missed, late or not reported.
What this report can’t tell you
Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and haloacetic acids (HAA5) results here are Kansas’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Marion Co RWD 4’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 July 6, 2020 to July 14, 2026.
Testing your own tap
The 3 labs Kansas certifies closest to the area Marion Co RWD 4 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 38 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate
Meridian Analytical Laboratory - Wichita
Wichita, KS · about 49 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts
Irwin Army Community Hospital-Water Laboratory-PH-EH
Fort Riley, KS · about 60 miles
Certified for bacteria
Sources
- EPA UCMR 5 occurrence data, file of Oct. 15, 2026
- EPA SDWA bulk download (SDWIS federal data), 2026 Q3
- Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Public Water Supply Section, results from Jan. 2, 2020 to Sept. 16, 2026, read Oct. 18, 2026
- EPA Six-Year Review 4 compliance monitoring data, 2012 to 2019, file of Feb. 5, 2024
- Certified labs: Kansas Department of Health and Environment, drinking water labs, as listed in TNI LAMS, read Oct. 13, 2026; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer
- Hardness: Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Public Water Supply Section, results from July 27, 2015 to Jan. 22, 2024, read Oct. 18, 2026
- Limits and goals: each contaminant’s page, with its EPA source.
- How this page is built: methodology.
PWSID KS2011511. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.
Towns it serves
Also in Marion County
- City of Hillsboro2,740
- City of Marion1,902
- City of Peabody932
- Marion Co RWD 1780
- City of Goessel558
- City of Florence387
What to do next
- Read up on the 2 results above a lineWhat each one does to health, where it comes from, and the certification claim that addresses it.Start with Copper
- Get the utility’s own reportMarion Co RWD 4 must send you a water quality report every year. It covers contaminants this page does not show.How to read it
- Test your own tap for leadYour service line, solder and fixtures decide the lead at your faucet, not the utility’s average.Lead in your water: what to do
- Compare certified filtersWhat the filters certified for these results cost over five years, cartridges included.Compare five-year costs