Is Bern, KS tap water safe?
The short answer
Neither of the 2 utilities serving Bern has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and Kansas’s records.
Nemaha Co RWD 1, which serves the most people here, has 2 results above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 2.7 ppb, above the health goal. Health goals are stricter than legal limits and are not enforced.
The water from Nemaha Co RWD 1 is very hard, typically 500 mg/L (29.2 grains per gallon). How Kansas’s water compares.
A town can be served by more than one utility, and some homes are on private wells. The name on your water bill tells you which is yours, and your ZIP code narrows it down. They are listed by how many people each serves in Bern’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
Nemaha Co RWD 1
Kansas · serves 350 people · under 100 in Bern
2 results above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 2.7 ppb, above the health goal. Hardness: very hard, typically 500 mg/L (29.2 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
City of Bern
Kansas · serves 163 people · under 100 in Bern
3 results above the health goal. The worst: Uranium at 28 ppb, above the health goal. Hardness: very hard, typically 338 mg/L (19.7 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
What handles it
Each of these is certified, on a certifier’s listing, for a result above a line in Nemaha Co RWD 1’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.
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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: Lead, Arsenic
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: Lead, Arsenic
Water testing near Bern
The lab Kansas certifies closest to Bern, 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 74 miles
Certified for bacteria
ZIP codes in Bern
Which ZIP codes are in Bern: Census 2020 relationship files. Which utilities serve them, and how many people: EPA SDWIS and EPA’s service area map. Each utility’s results: EPA UCMR 5, EPA SDWIS, and EPA’s and the state’s compliance monitoring, as its report lists them. How they are measured: methodology. Certified labs: Kansas Department of Health and Environment, drinking water labs, as listed in TNI LAMS; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer.
Near Bern
Towns nearby with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read Nemaha Co RWD 1’s full reportEvery result with its dates, the violations, and the certification claim that handles each finding.Open the report
- Filters for LeadRanked by certification and what they cost over five years.The best water filters for lead, ranked
- On a private well?No utility tests a well. A certified lab test is the first step.How to test well water