Skip to content
TapBuff
ZIP

Bates County PWSD 5

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
2,690 people
Connections
1,204
Water source
Surface water bought from another system
Based in
Adrian, MO
County
Bates
Owner
Local government
The 4 ZIP codes it serves

64720, 64722, 64725, 64788

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit. The worst: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), above the legal limit. 3 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5) and arsenic: 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 legal limit1

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Above the legal limit

74.8ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023

2023 average: 61 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 74.8 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2023, the latest year on file, it averaged 61 ppb. EPA judges this limit at each sampling point, and recorded a violation for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at this utility in 2021. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 78.1 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”

Below EPA’s limits1

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

40.2ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023

2023 average: 20.7 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 40.2 ppb, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2023, the latest year on file, it averaged 20.7 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 47.4 ppb, in 2014.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

2 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Arsenic
  • Lead

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

    Claim: Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

    Other certifiers’ wording: VOC Reduction

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claim: Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

At the tap, or for the whole house?

These come with the water itself, so a whole-house system certified for the same claims treats every tap and shower. A filter at the tap treats drinking water for much less. 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

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2021 to June 30, 202185 UG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2016 to June 30, 2016102 UG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2016 to March 31, 2016102 UG/LResolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 2 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5) 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. Bates County PWSD 5’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

Bates County PWSD 5’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 Bates County PWSD 5 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 42 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (417) 626-8509

  • Microbac Laboratories Inc.-Kansas

    Lenexa, KS · about 45 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (913) 321-7856

  • Blue Valley Laboratories Inc.

    Kansas City, MO · about 50 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (816) 471-4719

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 MO1024034. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Bates County

All Missouri utilities

What to do next