Ray County PWSD 1
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
- 2,490 people
- Connections
- 991
- Water source
- Groundwater bought from another system
- Based in
- Lawson, MO
- County
- Ray
- Owner
- Local government
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. 1 health-based violation since 2016.
What was found
Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and haloacetic acids (HAA5): 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.
Below EPA’s limits2
Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)
Forms or is added in treatment
49.4ppb
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023
2023 average: 29.1 ppb
Averaged by year, the highest was 49.4 ppb, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 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 81 ppb, in 2015, and EPA recorded a violation in 2018.
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
31.2ppb
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023
2023 average: 22.7 ppb
Averaged by year, the highest was 31.2 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2023, the latest year on file, it averaged 22.7 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 35.5 ppb, in 2014.
What handles it
No certification claim covers this compound yet.
One compound tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
- Lead
Violations since 2016
| Contaminant or rule | Type | Period | Measured | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TTHM | The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average | Oct. 1, 2018 to Dec. 31, 2018 | 81 UG/L | Resolved |
| 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. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) and haloacetic acids (HAA5) results here are Missouri’s yearly averages as CDC publishes them, from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Ray County PWSD 1’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
The 3 labs Missouri certifies closest to the area Ray County PWSD 1 serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
City of Independence Water Department
Sugar Creek, MO · about 20 miles
Certified for bacteria
Tri-County Water Authority
Independence, MO · about 20 miles
Certified for bacteria
Kansas City Water Services Laboratory
Kansas City, MO · about 31 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts
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 MO1024510. 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 reportRay County PWSD 1 must send you a water quality report every year. It covers contaminants this page does not show.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