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Memphis 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
1,822 people
Connections
1,011
Water source
Surface water
Based in
Memphis, MO
County
Scotland
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

63555

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit, and 2 more are above the health goal. The worst: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), above the legal limit. 6 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2013 to 2025.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), arsenic, haloacetic acids (HAA5) 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.

Fluoride and chromium (total): EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from June 6, 2012 to June 30, 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

63.1ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023

Averaged by year, the highest was 63.1 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. EPA judges this limit at each sampling point, and recorded a violation for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at this utility in 2026. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 82.7 ppb, in 2013, and EPA recorded a violation in 2013.

What handles it

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

Above the health goal2

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

1.7ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023

2023: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.7 ppb, in 2020: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. 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 1.1 ppb, in 2016.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

2.5ppb

90th percentile, 2023 to 2025

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 2.5 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 limits4

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

34.6ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023

2023 average: 29.1 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 34.6 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2023, the latest year on file, it averaged 29.1 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 61.2 ppb, in 2013, and EPA recorded a violation in 2013.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.99ppm

Highest yearly average, 2012 to 2019

2019, one sample: 0.58 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.99 ppm, in 2012, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2019, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.58 ppm.

What handles it

Chromium (total)

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

2.7ppb

Highest yearly average, 2012 to 2019

2019: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 2.7 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

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.07ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023

2023 average: 0.06 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.07 ppm, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2023, the latest year on file, it averaged 0.06 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 0.2 ppm, in 2015.

What handles it

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

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, Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), Arsenic, Lead

    Other certifiers’ wording: VOC Reduction; Arsenic (III) (50 ppb influent level)

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction, Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction, Lead Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), Arsenic, Lead

    Other certifiers’ wording: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=300 ppb Reduction; Arsenic (V) (300 ppb influent level)

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 reverse osmosis systems, ranked

The best water filters for lead, ranked

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2026 to June 30, 202687.5 UG/LArchived
Total organic carbonNot enough organic matter was removed. It reacts with disinfectant to form byproducts.EPA: Treatment Technique Precursor RemovalApril 1, 2024 to June 30, 2024—Resolved
Total organic carbonNot enough organic matter was removed. It reacts with disinfectant to form byproducts.EPA: Treatment Technique Precursor RemovalJan. 1, 2024 to March 31, 2024—Resolved
Total organic carbonNot enough organic matter was removed. It reacts with disinfectant to form byproducts.EPA: Treatment Technique Precursor RemovalOct. 1, 2023 to Dec. 31, 2023—Resolved
Total organic carbonNot enough organic matter was removed. It reacts with disinfectant to form byproducts.EPA: Treatment Technique Precursor RemovalJuly 1, 2023 to Sept. 30, 2023—Resolved
Total organic carbonNot enough organic matter was removed. It reacts with disinfectant to form byproducts.EPA: Treatment Technique Precursor RemovalApril 1, 2022 to June 30, 2022—Resolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 20 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), arsenic, haloacetic acids (HAA5) 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. Fluoride and chromium (total) come from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Memphis PWS’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 June 6, 2012 to June 30, 2019.

Testing your own tap

Memphis 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 Memphis PWS serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Microbac Laboratories Inc.-Centerville

    Centerville, IA · about 41 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (641) 792-8451

  • Rathbun Regional Water Association

    Centerville, IA · about 41 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (641) 647-2416

  • North Central Missouri Regional Water Commission

    Milan, MO · about 53 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (660) 256-3807

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 MO2010513. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Nearby

All Missouri utilities

What to do next