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Nemaha 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
448 people
Connections
260
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Wetmore, KS
County
Nemaha
Owner
Local government
Hardness
Very hard
The 5 ZIP codes it serves

66416, 66428, 66516, 66540, 66550

The short answer

2 results are above the health goal. The worst: Lead, above the health goal. No health-based violations on file since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2004 to 2023.

Arsenic, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), fluoride, chromium (total), haloacetic acids (HAA5) and nitrate: Kansas’s own results, samples taken from April 14, 2020 to July 20, 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

2.5ppb

90th percentile, 2021 to 2023

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 2.5 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

1.1ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.1 ppb, in 2020: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. In 2026, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample.

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 limits3

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

6.5ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023

2023, one sample: 6.2 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 6.5 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2023, the latest year on file, its one sample was 6.2 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 58 ppb, in 2017.

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

0.25ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026, one sample: 0.25 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.25 ppm, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2026, 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 0.23 ppm, in 2014.

What handles it

Chromium (total)

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

1.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.8 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 3.2 ppb, in 2017.

What handles it

2 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
  • 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

Very hard, 375 mg/L (21.9 grains per gallon), at its one sampling point, 2017 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 21.9 grains per gallon, salt includedSoftener or salt-free conditioner?Kansas water hardness, utility by utility

Violations since 2016

No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Arsenic, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), fluoride, chromium (total), haloacetic acids (HAA5) and nitrate results here are Kansas’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Nemaha 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 April 14, 2020 to July 20, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Nemaha Co RWD 4’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 Nemaha Co RWD 4 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 61 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (785) 239-7516

  • Johnson County Water Quality Laboratory

    Olathe, KS · about 71 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper

    (913) 715-6950

  • Olathe Environmental Laboratory

    Olathe, KS · about 71 miles

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

    (913) 971-8310

All 47 certified labs for Kansas

Sources

PWSID KS2013112. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Nemaha County

All Kansas utilities

What to do next