Lake Palo Pinto Area WSC
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
- 2,247 people
- Connections
- 749
- Water source
- Surface water
- Based in
- Gordon, TX
- County
- Palo Pinto
- Owner
- Local government
The short answer
Nothing in EPA’s and Texas’s records for this utility is above a health goal. That covers nitrate, arsenic and other regulated chemicals, plus lead and copper, not everything. 11 health-based violations since 2016.
What was found
Haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM), fluoride, nitrate, chromium (total), arsenic and uranium: Texas’s own results, samples taken from Feb. 24, 2020 to Sept. 23, 2026, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.
Below EPA’s limits5
Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
Forms or is added in treatment
47.5ppb
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026
2026 average: 30.1 ppb
Averaged by year, the highest was 47.5 ppb, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. Its highest single sample was 85.9 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its six samples averaged 30.1 ppb. EPA recorded no violation for haloacetic acids (HAA5) at this utility since 2020. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 87.8 ppb, in 2015, and EPA recorded violations in 2015, 2016 and 2019.
What handles it
No certification claim covers this compound yet.
Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)
Forms or is added in treatment
33.6ppb
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026
2026 average: 18.6 ppb
Averaged by year, the highest was 33.6 ppb, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. Its highest single sample was 52.9 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, its six samples averaged 18.6 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 110 ppb, in 2016, and EPA recorded violations in 2015, 2016 and 2017.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
Fluoride
Forms or is added in treatment
0.19ppm
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026
2026, one sample: 0.16 ppm
Averaged by year, the highest was 0.19 ppm, in 2024, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.16 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 0.2 ppm, in 2014.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Fluoride Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Fluoride”
Nitrate
Comes from the source
0.3ppm
Highest sample; found in 7 of 7
2026, one sample: 0.17 ppm
The highest sample, in 2025, was 0.3 ppm, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2026, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.17 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 0.27 ppm, in 2019.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”
Chromium (total)
Comes from the source
1.9ppb
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2026
2026: not found
Averaged by year, the highest was 1.9 ppb, in 2020, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. In 2026, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in its one sample. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 1.5 ppb, in 2012.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Chromium (Hexavalent) Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Chromium Reduction”
3 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
- Arsenic
- Lead
- Uranium
Violations since 2016
| Contaminant or rule | Type | Period | Measured | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chlorite | The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average | Nov. 1, 2024 to Nov. 30, 2024 | — | Resolved |
| Chlorite | The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average | Oct. 1, 2024 to Oct. 31, 2024 | — | Resolved |
| Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) | The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average | July 1, 2019 to Sept. 30, 2019 | 0.067 MG/L | Resolved |
| Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) | The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average | April 1, 2019 to June 30, 2019 | 0.064 MG/L | Resolved |
| TTHM | The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average | April 1, 2017 to June 30, 2017 | 0.086 MG/L | Resolved |
| TTHM | The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average | Jan. 1, 2017 to March 31, 2017 | 0.12 MG/L | Resolved |
| TTHM | The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average | Oct. 1, 2016 to Dec. 31, 2016 | 0.12 MG/L | Resolved |
| TTHM | The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average | July 1, 2016 to Sept. 30, 2016 | 0.1 MG/L | Archived |
| TTHM | The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average | April 1, 2016 to June 30, 2016 | 0.11 MG/L | Archived |
| Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) | The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average | Jan. 1, 2016 to March 31, 2016 | 0.081 MG/L | Resolved |
| TTHM | The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average | Jan. 1, 2016 to March 31, 2016 | 0.11 MG/L | Archived |
| Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 4 monitoring or reporting violations not shown. | ||||
What this report can’t tell you
Everything else. Haloacetic acids (HAA5), total trihalomethanes (TTHM), fluoride, nitrate, chromium (total), arsenic and uranium results here are Texas’s own from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Lake Palo Pinto Area WSC’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. 24, 2020 to Sept. 23, 2026.
Testing your own tap
The 3 labs Texas certifies closest to the area Lake Palo Pinto Area WSC serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Texas Institute for Applied Environmental Research (TIAER)
Stephenville, TX · about 28 miles
Certified for bacteria
Tarrant County Public Health Laboratory
Fort Worth, TX · about 58 miles
Certified for bacteria
Pace Analytical Services, LLC -Dallas TX
Fort Worth, TX · about 65 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 TX1820069. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.
Towns it serves
Also in Palo Pinto County
- City of Mineral Wells15,564
- Possum Kingdom WSC8,583
- Santo SUD3,546
- Sturdivant Progress WSC3,111
- City of Strawn1,311
- The Cliffs1,115
What to do next
- Nothing here is above a health goalIn EPA’s and Texas’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 reportLake Palo Pinto Area WSC 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