Is Cape Girardeau, MO tap water safe?
The short answer
2 of the 13 utilities serving Cape Girardeau have a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and CDC’s records: Cape Girardeau PWS and Enclave Apts & Affordable Mini Storage.
Cape Girardeau PWS, which serves the most people here, has 1 result above the limit’s level with no violation recorded and 1 result above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic at 18.9 ppb, above the limit’s level, no violation. Health goals are stricter than legal limits and are not enforced.
A town can be served by more than one utility, and some homes are on private wells. The name on your water bill tells you which is yours, and your ZIP code narrows it down. They are listed by how many people each serves in Cape Girardeau’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
Cape Girardeau PWS
Missouri · serves 39,941 people · about 9,800 in Cape Girardeau
1 result above the limit’s level with no violation recorded and 1 result above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic at 18.9 ppb, above the limit’s level, no violation.
1 health-based violation since 2016
- Open report
Cape Girardeau County PWSD 4
Missouri · serves 1,743 people · about 420 in Cape Girardeau
2 results above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic at 2.3 ppb, above the health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Cape Girardeau County PWSD 5
Missouri · serves 485 people · about 230 in Cape Girardeau
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 0.93 ppb, above the health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Parkwood Estates LLC
Missouri · serves 350 people · under 100 in Cape Girardeau
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 2.2 ppb, above the health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Windwood Estates Subd
Missouri · serves 170 people · under 100 in Cape Girardeau
2 results above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic at 2.5 ppb, above the health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
North Hills Estates
Missouri · serves 150 people · under 100 in Cape Girardeau
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 3.3 ppb, above the health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Cape Girardeau County PWSD 2
Missouri · serves 2,913 people · lists Cape Girardeau among the places it serves
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 5.1 ppb, above the health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Mid America Teen Challenge
Missouri · serves 135 people · based in Cape Girardeau
Nothing in its records is above a health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Enclave Apts & Affordable Mini Storage
Missouri · serves 92 people · based in Cape Girardeau
Nothing in its records is above a health goal.
2 health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Royal Lake Estates
Missouri · serves 52 people · based in Cape Girardeau
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 9.2 ppb, above the health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
3 more utilities in Cape Girardeau
By EPA’s estimate, each serves fewer people in Cape Girardeau than those above.
- Westlake Meadows Subdivisionserves 50 people · based in Cape Girardeau · no health-based violations since 2016
- Upper Bend Road Subdivisionserves 40 people · based in Cape Girardeau · no health-based violations since 2016
- Winfield Pointe Estatesserves 33 people · based in Cape Girardeau · no health-based violations since 2016
What handles it
Each of these is certified, on a certifier’s listing, for a result above a line in Cape Girardeau PWS’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.
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Countertop reverse osmosis
- IAPMO listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 58NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 4, 2026
Certified for: Arsenic, Lead
Aquasana SmartFlow Reverse Osmosis (AQ-SFRO2)
Under-sink reverse osmosis
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 58NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 9, 2026
Certified for: Arsenic, Lead
Brondell Capella RC250 Reverse Osmosis System
Under-sink reverse osmosis
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 58NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 9, 2026
Certified for: Arsenic, Lead
Water testing near Cape Girardeau
The lab Missouri certifies closest to Cape Girardeau, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Environmental Analysis South
Jackson, MO · about 10 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 MissouriWhich ZIP codes are in Cape Girardeau: Census 2020 relationship files. Which utilities serve them, and how many people: EPA SDWIS and EPA’s service area map. Each utility’s results: EPA UCMR 5, EPA SDWIS, and EPA’s and the state’s compliance monitoring, as its report lists them. How they are measured: methodology. Certified labs: Missouri DNR, certified microbiological and chemical laboratories; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer.
Near Cape Girardeau
Other towns in Cape Girardeau County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read Cape Girardeau PWS’s full reportEvery result with its dates, the violations, and the certification claim that handles each finding.Open the report
- Filters for ArsenicRanked by certification and what they cost over five years.The best reverse osmosis systems, ranked
- On a private well?No utility tests a well. A certified lab test is the first step.How to test well water