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Is Lawrence, KS tap water safe?

7 utilities serve Lawrence, by EPA’s records. Here is what EPA’s and Kansas’s records show for each, against the legal limits and the stricter health goals.

Matched to your utility using EPA records.

The short answer

1 of the 7 utilities serving Lawrence has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and Kansas’s records: Douglas Co RWD 3.

City of Lawrence, which serves the most people here, has 2 results above the health goal and 1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: Lithium at 27.3 ppb, above EPA’s health benchmark. Health goals are stricter than legal limits and are not enforced.

The water from City of Lawrence is soft to moderately hard depending on the source, 36 to 74 mg/L (2.1 to 4.3 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 Lawrence’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.

What handles it

Each of these is certified, on a certifier’s listing, for a result above a line in City of Lawrence’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.

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Every claim, and more filters, in the full report

Water testing near Lawrence

A utility tests the water it sends out. A test of your own tap shows what your pipes add, and on a private well it is the only test there is. It takes a lab Kansas certifies.

The 3 labs Kansas certifies closest to Lawrence, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Johnson County Water Quality Laboratory

    Olathe, KS · about 21 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper

    (913) 715-6950

  • Olathe Environmental Laboratory

    Olathe, KS · about 21 miles

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

    (913) 971-8310

  • Eurofins Kansas City

    Lenexa, KS · about 28 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (319) 595-2009

All 47 certified labs for Kansas

ZIP codes in Lawrence

Which ZIP codes are in Lawrence: 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 Lawrence

Other towns in Douglas County with a page of their own.

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