Barry County PWSD 2
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
- 34 people
- Connections
- 73
- Water source
- Groundwater
- Based in
- Shell Knob, MO
- County
- Barry
- Owner
- Local government
The ZIP code it serves
The short answer
Nothing in EPA’s and CDC’s records for this utility is above a health goal. That covers nitrate, arsenic and other regulated chemicals, plus lead and copper, not everything. No health-based violations on file since 2016.
What was found
Nitrate and arsenic: Missouri’s yearly averages per water system, as CDC’s Environmental Public Health Tracking Network publishes them, 2020 to 2023.
Chromium (total), total trihalomethanes (TTHM), fluoride and haloacetic acids (HAA5): EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from Aug. 14, 2013 to Sept. 18, 2019. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.
Below EPA’s limits3
Chromium (total)
Comes from the source
6.8ppb
Highest yearly average, 2013 to 2019
2019: not found
Averaged by year, the highest was 6.8 ppb, in 2013, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. In 2019, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Chromium (Hexavalent) Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Chromium Reduction”
Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)
Forms or is added in treatment
0.51ppb
Highest yearly average, 2016 to 2019
Averaged by year, the highest was 0.51 ppb, in 2019, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. That was also the latest year on file.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
Nitrate
Comes from the source
0.05ppm
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023
2023 average: 0.04 ppm
Averaged by year, the highest was 0.05 ppm, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2023, the latest year on file, it averaged 0.04 ppm.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”
4 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
- Arsenic
- Fluoride
- Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
- Lead
Violations since 2016
No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016. There are 4 monitoring or reporting violations: a sample missed, late or not reported.
What this report can’t tell you
Everything else. Nitrate and arsenic results here are Missouri’s yearly averages as CDC publishes them, from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Chromium (total), total trihalomethanes (TTHM), fluoride and haloacetic acids (HAA5) come from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Barry County PWSD 2’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 Missouri cover 2020 to 2023; EPA’s compliance samples are from Aug. 14, 2013 to Sept. 18, 2019.
Testing your own tap
The 3 labs Missouri certifies closest to the area Barry County PWSD 2 serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Stone County Health Center
Reeds Spring, MO · about 14 miles
Certified for bacteria
Missouri American Water Co.-Branson Metro Laboratory
Branson, MO · about 19 miles
Certified for bacteria
Taney County Health Department Laboratory
Branson, MO · about 19 miles
Certified for bacteria
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 MissouriSources
- EPA UCMR 5 occurrence data, file of Oct. 15, 2026
- EPA SDWA bulk download (SDWIS federal data), 2026 Q3
- CDC Environmental Public Health Tracking Network, yearly averages Missouri supplied to CDC, 2020 to 2023, read Oct. 8, 2026. TapBuff’s comparisons with EPA’s limits are its own, not CDC’s or Missouri’s.
- EPA Six-Year Review 4 compliance monitoring data, 2012 to 2019, file of Feb. 5, 2024
- Certified labs: Missouri DNR, certified microbiological and chemical laboratories, read Oct. 10, 2026; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer
- Limits and goals: each contaminant’s page, with its EPA source.
- How this page is built: methodology.
PWSID MO5036196. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.
What to do next
- Nothing here is above a health goalIn EPA’s and CDC’s records for this utility. They don’t cover everything, which is why the next step matters.Every contaminant TapBuff tracks
- Get the utility’s own reportBarry County PWSD 2 must send you a water quality report every year. It covers contaminants this page does not show, and has newer results than EPA’s national file for the ones here that come from it.How to read it
- Test your own tap for leadYour service line, solder and fixtures decide the lead at your faucet, not the utility’s average.Lead in your water: what to do
- Decide if you want a filter at allA filter for taste or chlorine is a preference, not a need. The standards say what each kind can do.NSF/ANSI standards, decoded