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Walker 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
283 people
Connections
104
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Walker, MO
County
Vernon
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

64790

The short answer

1 result is above the health goal. The worst: Lead, above the health goal. 1 health-based violation since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

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

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

Fluoride and chromium (total): EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from April 17, 2013 to April 28, 2019. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.

Above the health goal1

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

1.7ppb

90th percentile, 2023 to 2025

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 1.7 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 limits5

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

15.5ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023

2023 average: 5.2 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 15.5 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2023, the latest year on file, it averaged 5.2 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 2.4 ppb, in 2017.

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

11ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023

2023 average: 1.6 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 11 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. In 2023, the latest year on file, it averaged 1.6 ppb.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.63ppm

Highest yearly average, 2013 to 2019

2019, one sample: 0.63 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.63 ppm, in 2013, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2019, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.63 ppm.

What handles it

Chromium (total)

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

1.1ppb

Highest yearly average, 2013 to 2019

2019: not found

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.1 ppb, in 2016, 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

0.02ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023

2023 average: 0.02 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.02 ppm, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2023, the latest year on file, it averaged 0.02 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 0.014 ppm, in 2016.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”
One compound tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Arsenic

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
Groundwater RuleRequired treatment for surface water or groundwater was not met.EPA: Treatment Technique (SWTR and GWR)Oct. 1, 2025 to Oct. 31, 2025—Resolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 3 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), nitrate 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. Fluoride and chromium (total) come from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Walker 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 April 17, 2013 to April 28, 2019.

Testing your own tap

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

  • Pace Analytical Services Inc.-Kansas

    Frontenac, KS · about 41 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (913) 563-1444

  • Missouri American Water Co.-Joplin

    Joplin, MO · about 58 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (417) 626-8509

  • Water Analysis Inc.

    Joplin, MO · about 64 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (417) 623-2626

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 MO5010828. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Also in Vernon County

All Missouri utilities

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