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Appleton City PWS

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
1,050 people
Connections
515
Water source
Surface water bought from another system
Based in
Appleton City, MO
County
St. Clair
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

64724

The short answer

1 result is above the limit’s level with no violation recorded, and 1 more is above the health goal. The worst: Haloacetic acids (HAA5), above the limit’s level, no violation. 2 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2014 to 2024.

Haloacetic acids (HAA5) and total trihalomethanes (TTHM): Missouri’s yearly averages per water system, as CDC’s Environmental Public Health Tracking Network publishes them, 2020 to 2023, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the limit’s level, no violation recorded1

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Above the limit’s level, no violation

74.9ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023

2023 average: 47.7 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 74.9 ppb, in 2020, above EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2023, the latest year on file, it averaged 47.7 ppb. EPA judges this limit on running averages at each sampling point, and recorded no violation for haloacetic acids (HAA5) at this utility since 2020. Results like these with no violation often include water sampled before treatment or blending; the utility’s annual report says what reaches the tap. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 51.9 ppb, in 2019.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Above the health goal1

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

1.6ppb

90th percentile, 2022 to 2024

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 1.6 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 limits1

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

74.4ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023

Averaged by year, the highest was 74.4 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 87.5 ppb, in 2015, and EPA recorded violations in 2015 and 2016.

What handles it

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

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.”

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
Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment RuleA significant problem found in a state inspection was not fixed on time.EPA: Failure To Address DeficiencyJune 23, 2025—Resolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2016 to March 31, 201690 UG/LResolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 1 monitoring or reporting violation not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Haloacetic acids (HAA5) and total trihalomethanes (TTHM) results here are Missouri’s yearly averages as CDC publishes them, from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Appleton City PWS’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; CDC’s yearly averages for Missouri cover 2020 to 2023.

Testing your own tap

Appleton City PWS’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 Missouri certifies.

The 3 labs Missouri certifies closest to the area Appleton City PWS serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Missouri American Water Co.-Warrensburg

    Warrensburg, MO · about 47 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (417) 626-8509

  • Pace Analytical Services Inc.-Kansas

    Frontenac, KS · about 61 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (913) 563-1444

  • Lake of the Ozarks Water Services

    Camdenton, MO · about 67 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (573) 346-2092

Missouri State Public Health Laboratory: Coliform and E. coli testing for private wells and other private drinking water sources, in kits from your local public health agency. A free state courier can carry the sample to the lab overnight. The handling fee is $10, by check or money order. Private Drinking Water Bacteriological Testing, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

All 64 certified labs for Missouri

Sources

PWSID MO5010020. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in St. Clair County

All Missouri utilities

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