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Osborne Co RWD 1a

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
81 people
Connections
122
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Alton, KS
County
Osborne
Owner
Local government
Hardness
Very hard
The 4 ZIP codes it serves

67474, 67623, 67628, 67638

The short answer

1 result is above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic, above the health goal. 2 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Arsenic, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, haloacetic acids (HAA5), fluoride and chromium (total): Kansas’s own results, samples taken from Jan. 21, 2020 to Jan. 7, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the health goal1

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

3.2ppb

Highest yearly average, 2021 to 2024

2024 average: 2.3 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 3.2 ppb, in 2021: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. In 2024, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 2.3 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 4.3 ppb, in 2015.

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 limits5

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

50.5ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2025

2025, one sample: 2.2 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 50.5 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 92 ppb. In 2025, the latest year on file, its one sample was 2.2 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 85 ppb, in 2015.

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

4.2ppm

Highest sample; found in 18 of 18

2026 average: 0.72 ppm

The highest sample, in 2020, was 4.2 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 0.72 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 6.8 ppm, in 2017.

What handles it

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

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

10.4ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2025

2025: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 10.4 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 19 ppb. In 2025, 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 22 ppb, in 2014.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.34ppm

Highest yearly average, 2021 to 2024

2024 average: 0.32 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.34 ppm, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. Its highest single sample was 0.37 ppm. In 2024, the latest year on file, its two samples averaged 0.32 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.32 ppm, in 2015.

What handles it

Chromium (total)

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

1.3ppb

Highest yearly average, 2021 to 2024

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.3 ppb, in 2024, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. Its highest single sample was 1.3 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 2.2 ppb, in 2018.

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

    Claim: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction

    For: Arsenic

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

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claim: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction

    For: Arsenic

    Other certifiers’ wording: 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 605 mg/L (35.4 grains per gallon), across 2 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 35.4 grains per gallon, salt includedSoftener or salt-free conditioner?Kansas water hardness, utility by utility

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
Groundwater RuleA significant problem found in a state inspection was not fixed on time.EPA: Failure To Address DeficiencyJan. 27, 2017—Resolved
Revised Total Coliform RuleColiform results required a check of the system, and the check or its fixes were not done on time.EPA: Treatment Technique, Level 1 Assessment (RTCR)Sept. 23, 2016—Resolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 21 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Arsenic, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, 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. Osborne Co RWD 1a’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. 21, 2020 to Jan. 7, 2026.

Testing your own tap

Osborne Co RWD 1a’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 Osborne Co RWD 1a serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • LandIntel Solutions, LLC

    Scandia, KS · about 61 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (785) 335-2054

All 47 certified labs for Kansas

Sources

PWSID KS2014103. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Osborne County

All Kansas utilities

What to do next