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Town of St Joseph Water System

What EPA’s and CDC’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
1,332 people
Connections
444
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
St Joseph, LA
County
Tensas Parish
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

71366

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit, and 1 more is above the health goal. The worst: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), above the legal limit. 18 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2019 to 2026.

Copper: EPA’s file records a utility’s copper only when it exceeds the action level. The last here was 1.4 ppm, for the period ending Dec. 31, 2016. None since is on file, so it is not counted as a current finding.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), nitrate, arsenic and uranium: Louisiana’s yearly averages per water system, as CDC’s Environmental Public Health Tracking Network publishes them, 2020 to 2022, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Fluoride and chromium (total): EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from April 15, 2013 to Oct. 4, 2019. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.

Above the legal limit1

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Above the legal limit

54.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2022

2022 average: 5.3 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 54.8 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2022, the latest year on file, it averaged 5.3 ppb. EPA judges this limit at each sampling point, and recorded a violation for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at this utility in 2020. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 111 ppb, in 2019, and EPA recorded violations in 2018 and 2019.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”

Above the health goal1

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

2.0ppb

90th percentile, 2024 to 2026

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 2.0 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

Below EPA’s limits3

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

20ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2022

2022 average: 3.7 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 20 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2022, the latest year on file, it averaged 3.7 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 53.2 ppb, in 2019, and EPA recorded a violation in 2019.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

1.1ppm

Highest yearly average, 2022

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.1 ppm, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. That is the only year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 1.0 ppm, in 2013.

What handles it

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

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.36ppm

Highest yearly average, 2013 to 2018

2018 average: 0.31 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.36 ppm, in 2016, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. Its highest single sample was 0.37 ppm. In 2018, the latest year on file, its four samples averaged 0.31 ppm.

What handles it

3 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Arsenic
  • Chromium (total)
  • Uranium

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: Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), Lead

    Other certifiers’ wording: VOC Reduction

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), 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

Compare five-year costs

The best water filters for lead, ranked

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
Lead and Copper Rule RevisionsThe required inventory of lead service lines was not completed or submitted on time.EPA: LSL InventoryOct. 17, 2024—Resolved
Groundwater RuleA significant problem found in a state inspection was not fixed on time.EPA: Failure To Address DeficiencyNov. 27, 2023—Unaddressed
Groundwater RuleA significant problem found in a state inspection was not fixed on time.EPA: Failure To Address DeficiencyNov. 27, 2023—Unaddressed
Groundwater RuleA significant problem found in a state inspection was not fixed on time.EPA: Failure To Address DeficiencyNov. 27, 2023—Unaddressed
Groundwater RuleA significant problem found in a state inspection was not fixed on time.EPA: Failure To Address DeficiencyNov. 27, 2023—Unaddressed
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2020 to June 30, 20200.1 MG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2020 to March 31, 20200.11 MG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2019 to Dec. 31, 20190.11 MG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2019 to Sept. 30, 20190.11 MG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2019 to June 30, 20190.12 MG/LResolved
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2019 to June 30, 20190.062 MG/LResolved
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2019 to March 31, 20190.061 MG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2019 to March 31, 20190.12 MG/LResolved
Groundwater RuleA significant problem found in a state inspection was not fixed on time.EPA: Failure To Address DeficiencyDec. 2, 2018—Resolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2018 to Dec. 31, 20180.094 MG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2018 to Sept. 30, 201896 UG/LResolved
Revised Total Coliform RuleE. coli was confirmed in the water system.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, E. coli (RTCR)Feb. 1, 2017 to Feb. 28, 2017—Resolved
Groundwater RuleA significant problem found in a state inspection was not fixed on time.EPA: Failure To Address DeficiencyMay 2, 2016—Resolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 13 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), nitrate, arsenic and uranium results here are Louisiana’s yearly averages as CDC publishes them, from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Fluoride and chromium (total) come from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Town of St Joseph Water System’s own annual report, which it must send you every year, has newer results for those and 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; CDC’s yearly averages for Louisiana cover 2020 to 2022; EPA’s compliance samples are from April 15, 2013 to Oct. 4, 2019.

Testing your own tap

Town of St Joseph Water System’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 Louisiana certifies.

No lab Louisiana certifies is within 75 miles of the area Town of St Joseph Water System serves on the state’s list. Some take samples by mail; the state’s page lists them all.

All 48 certified labs for Louisiana

Sources

PWSID LA1107004. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Tensas Parish

All Louisiana utilities

What to do next