Howard Water Coop
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
- 138 people
- Connections
- 46
- Water source
- Surface water bought from another system
- Based in
- Saint Louis, TX
- County
- Ellis
- Owner
- Private
The short answer
1 result is above EPA’s legal limit. The worst: Fluoride, above the legal limit. 7 health-based violations since 2016.
What handles itWhat was found
Fluoride, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), nitrate, arsenic and chromium (total): Texas’s own results, samples taken from March 12, 2020 to Sept. 17, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.
Uranium: EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from Jan. 10, 2018 to Jan. 10, 2018. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.
Above the legal limit1
Fluoride
Forms or is added in treatment
4.5ppm
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023
2023 average: 1.4 ppm
Averaged by year, the highest was 4.5 ppm, in 2020, above EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. Its highest single sample was 4.5 ppm. In 2023, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 1.4 ppm. EPA recorded a violation for fluoride at this utility in 2020. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 4.7 ppm, in 2016, and EPA recorded violations in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Fluoride Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Fluoride”
Below EPA’s limits3
Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)
Forms or is added in treatment
59.9ppb
Highest yearly average, 2022 to 2025
Averaged by year, the highest was 59.9 ppb, in 2025, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 43.4 ppb, in 2019.
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
19.6ppb
Highest yearly average, 2022 to 2025
Averaged by year, the highest was 19.6 ppb, in 2025, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 10.7 ppb, in 2019.
What handles it
No certification claim covers this compound yet.
Nitrate
Comes from the source
0.76ppm
Highest sample; found in 14 of 15
2026 average: 0.38 ppm
The highest sample, in 2024, was 0.76 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its three samples averaged 0.38 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 0.46 ppm, in 2019.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”
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: Fluoride
For: Fluoride
- NSF/ANSI 58
Claim: Fluoride Reduction
For: Fluoride
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
Under-sink reverse osmosis
- IAPMO listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 58checked Oct. 4, 2026
Certified for: Fluoride
Under-sink reverse osmosis
- IAPMO listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 58checked Oct. 9, 2026
Certified for: Fluoride
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: Fluoride
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: Fluoride
Violations since 2016
| Contaminant or rule | Type | Period | Measured | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lead and Copper Rule Revisions | The required inventory of lead service lines was not completed or submitted on time.EPA: LSL Inventory | Oct. 17, 2024 | — | Resolved |
| Fluoride | The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average | Oct. 1, 2020 to Dec. 31, 2020 | 4.5 MG/L | Resolved |
| Fluoride | The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average | July 1, 2020 to Sept. 30, 2020 | 4.4 MG/L | Resolved |
| Fluoride | The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average | Oct. 1, 2016 to Dec. 31, 2016 | 4.3 MG/L | Resolved |
| Fluoride | The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average | July 1, 2016 to Sept. 30, 2016 | 4.8 MG/L | Resolved |
| Fluoride | The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average | April 1, 2016 to June 30, 2016 | 4.8 MG/L | Resolved |
| Fluoride | The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average | Jan. 1, 2016 to March 31, 2016 | 4.6 MG/L | 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. Fluoride, total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), nitrate, arsenic and chromium (total) results here are Texas’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Uranium comes from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Howard Water Coop’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; Texas’s results run from March 12, 2020 to Sept. 17, 2026; EPA’s compliance samples are from Jan. 10, 2018 to Jan. 10, 2018.
Testing your own tap
The 3 labs Texas certifies closest to the area Howard Water Coop serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Environmental Monitoring Lab
Hillsboro, TX · about 34 miles
Certified for bacteria
Eurofins Xenco, LLC -Dallas
Dallas, TX · about 37 miles
Certified for bacteria
Pace Analytical Services, LLC -Dallas TX
Fort Worth, TX · about 43 miles
Certified for bacteria
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 TexasSources
- EPA UCMR 5 occurrence data, file of Oct. 15, 2026
- EPA SDWA bulk download (SDWIS federal data), 2026 Q3
- Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Texas Drinking Water Viewer, results from Jan. 7, 2020 to Oct. 6, 2026, read Oct. 16, 2026
- EPA Six-Year Review 4 compliance monitoring data, 2012 to 2019, file of Feb. 5, 2024
- Certified labs: TCEQ, drinking water laboratories approved for public water system samples, 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 TX0700054. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.
What to do next
- Read up on FluorideWhat each one does to health, where it comes from, and the certification claim that addresses it.About Fluoride
- Get the utility’s own reportHoward Water Coop must send you a water quality report every year. It covers contaminants this page does not show, and has newer results than EPA’s national file for the ones here that come from it.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
- Compare certified filtersWhat the filters certified for these results cost over five years, cartridges included.Compare five-year costs