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Cole 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
350 people
Connections
102
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
St. Thomas, MO
County
Cole
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

65076

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit. The worst: Lead, above the action level. 1 health-based violation since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2013 to 2026.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), arsenic and nitrate: 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.

Chromium (total) and fluoride: EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from Feb. 16, 2012 to Feb. 24, 2018. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.

Above the legal limit1

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the action level

15.1ppb

90th percentile, 2024 to 2026

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 15.1 ppb, above EPA’s action level of 15 ppb. The action level drops to 10 ppb on Nov. 1, 2027, and this result is at or above that. EPA’s health goal for lead is zero.

What handles it

Below EPA’s limits3

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

7.7ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023

2023: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 7.7 ppb, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2023, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 2.4 ppb, in 2019.

What handles it

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

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

3.2ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023

2023: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 3.2 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2023, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Chromium (total)

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

2.2ppb

Highest yearly average, 2012 to 2018

2018: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 2.2 ppb, in 2012, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. In 2018, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample.

What handles it

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

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
Revised Total Coliform RuleColiform results required a check of the system, and the check or its fixes were not done on time.EPA: Treatment Technique, Level 1 Assessment (RTCR)Nov. 17, 2017—Resolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 4 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), arsenic and nitrate 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) and fluoride come from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Cole County PWSD 5’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 Feb. 16, 2012 to Feb. 24, 2018.

Testing your own tap

Cole 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 Cole County PWSD 5 serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services-State Public Health Laboratory

    Jefferson City, MO · about 9 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (573) 751-3334

  • Missouri American Water Co.-Jefferson City

    Jefferson City, MO · about 14 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (573) 636-8616

  • Milk Regulatory Consultants

    Russellville, MO · about 17 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (573) 338-1785

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 MO3024164. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Cole County

All Missouri utilities

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