Is Zapata, TX tap water safe?
The short answer
3 of the 3 utilities serving Zapata have a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and Texas’s records: Zapata County Waterworks Swtp, Siesta Shores WCID and Zapata County WCID Hwy 16 East.
Zapata County Waterworks Swtp, which serves the most people here, has 1 result above the health goal and 1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: Lithium at 30.9 ppb, above EPA’s health benchmark. 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 Zapata’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
Zapata County Waterworks Swtp
Texas · serves 13,736 people · about 160 in Zapata
1 result above the health goal and 1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: Lithium at 30.9 ppb, above EPA’s health benchmark.
1 health-based violation since 2016
- Open report
Siesta Shores WCID
Texas · serves 1,893 people · under 100 in Zapata
1 result above the legal limit and 1 result above the health goal. The worst: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at 68 ppb, above the legal limit.
16 health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Zapata County WCID Hwy 16 East
Texas · serves 243 people · under 100 in Zapata
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 1.1 ppb, above the health goal.
1 health-based violation since 2016
What handles it
Each of these is certified, on a certifier’s listing, for a result above a line in Zapata County Waterworks Swtp’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.
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Brita Tahoe Pitcher with Elite Filter (OB60, OB06)
Pitcher
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 13, 2026
- IAPMO listing:NSF/ANSI 53checked Oct. 13, 2026
Certified for: Lead
Brita Everyday Pitcher with Elite Filter (OB46, OB06)
Pitcher
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 13, 2026
Certified for: Lead
PUR PLUS 11-Cup Pitcher (PPT111W)
Pitcher
- NSF listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 4, 2026
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 4, 2026
- IAPMO listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 4, 2026
Certified for: Lead
Water testing near Zapata
The lab Texas certifies closest to Zapata, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
City of Laredo Health Department Lab
Laredo, TX · about 45 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 TexasZIP codes in Zapata
Which ZIP codes are in Zapata: 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: TCEQ, drinking water laboratories approved for public water system samples; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer.
Near Zapata
Towns nearby with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read Zapata County Waterworks Swtp’s full reportEvery result with its dates, the violations, and the certification claim that handles each finding.Open the report
- About LithiumWhat it does to health, where it comes from, and the certification claim that addresses it.About Lithium
- On a private well?No utility tests a well. A certified lab test is the first step.How to test well water