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El Camino Bay Water System

What EPA’s and Texas’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
266 people
Connections
121
Water source
Surface water
Based in
Hemphill, TX
County
Sabine
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

75948

The short answer

2 results are above EPA’s legal limit. The worst: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), above the legal limit. 29 health-based violations since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), nitrate, fluoride, arsenic, chromium (total) and uranium: Texas’s own results, samples taken from Feb. 20, 2020 to Sept. 8, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.

Above the legal limit2

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Above the legal limit

175ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 33.5 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 175 ppb, in 2021, about twice EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 340 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 33.5 ppb. EPA recorded violations for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at this utility in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 63.2 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

Above the legal limit

110ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026 average: 38.5 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 110 ppb, in 2024, above EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 164 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 38.5 ppb. EPA recorded violations for haloacetic acids (HAA5) at this utility in 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 59.2 ppb, in 2017.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Below EPA’s limits2

Nitrate

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

0.4ppm

Highest sample; found in 7 of 7

2026, one sample: 0.4 ppm

The highest sample, in 2026, was 0.4 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. That was also the latest year on file, and its one sample was 0.4 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 0.19 ppm, in 2019.

What handles it

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

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.086ppm

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026

2026, one sample: 0.051 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.086 ppm, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.051 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.1 ppm, in 2012.

What handles it

4 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Arsenic
  • Chromium (total)
  • Lead
  • Uranium

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

    Claim: Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

    Other certifiers’ wording: VOC Reduction

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claim: Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

At the tap, or for the whole house?

These come with the water itself, so a whole-house system certified for the same claims treats every tap and shower. A filter at the tap treats drinking water for much less. 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

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, 20260.088 MG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2026 to March 31, 20260.09 MG/LArchived
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2025 to Dec. 31, 20250.088 MG/LArchived
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2025 to June 30, 20250.084 MG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2025 to June 30, 20250.12 MG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2025 to March 31, 20250.14 MG/LResolved
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2025 to March 31, 20250.099 MG/LResolved
Lead and Copper Rule RevisionsThe required inventory of lead service lines was not completed or submitted on time.EPA: LSL InventoryOct. 17, 2024—Unaddressed
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2024 to Dec. 31, 20240.17 MG/LResolved
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2024 to Dec. 31, 20240.11 MG/LResolved
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2024 to Sept. 30, 20240.12 MG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2024 to Sept. 30, 20240.17 MG/LResolved
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2024 to June 30, 20240.089 MG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2024 to June 30, 20240.1 MG/LResolved
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2024 to March 31, 20240.1 MG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2024 to March 31, 20240.12 MG/LResolved
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2023 to Dec. 31, 20230.078 MG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2023 to Dec. 31, 20230.081 MG/LResolved
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2022 to Dec. 31, 20220.063 MG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2022 to Dec. 31, 20220.11 MG/LResolved
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2022 to Sept. 30, 20220.09 MG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2022 to Sept. 30, 20220.17 MG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2022 to June 30, 20220.2 MG/LResolved
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageApril 1, 2022 to June 30, 20220.1 MG/LResolved
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2022 to March 31, 20220.1 MG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2022 to March 31, 20220.19 MG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2021 to Dec. 31, 20210.13 MG/LResolved
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageOct. 1, 2021 to Dec. 31, 20210.072 MG/LResolved
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJuly 1, 2021 to Sept. 30, 20210.11 MG/LResolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 42 monitoring or reporting violations not shown.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), nitrate, fluoride, arsenic, chromium (total) and uranium results here are Texas’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. El Camino Bay Water System’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; Texas’s results run from Feb. 20, 2020 to Sept. 8, 2026.

Testing your own tap

El Camino Bay Water System’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 Texas certifies.

The lab Texas certifies closest to the area El Camino Bay Water System serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Eastex Environmental Lab, Inc.-Nacogdoches

    Nacogdoches, TX · about 46 miles

    Certified for bacteria

    (936) 569-8879

Texas Well Owner Network, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension: Well Informed screening events, where well owners bring in water samples to be screened for common contaminants, followed by an hour-long session explaining the results. Upcoming events are on the network's calendar. Trainings, Texas Well Owner Network.

All 80 certified labs for Texas

Sources

PWSID TX2020013. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Sabine County

All Texas utilities

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