Is Ottawa, City of Tap Water Safe? Quality Report

Water source: Surface water
Ownership: Local government
Counties served: Franklin

Compliance record

Formal violations the EPA has on file for this supplier. A health-based violation means a contaminant limit or a required treatment was breached; the rest are monitoring or reporting failures — still violations, but not a measured health risk.

health-based violations

violations on file

still open

Violation	Type	Status	Period
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2024-07-01 → 2024-09-30
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2024-07-01 → 2024-09-30
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2024-07-01 → 2024-09-30
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2020-01-01 → 2020-03-31
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2020-01-01 → 2020-03-31
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2020-01-01 → 2020-03-31
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2020-01-01 → 2020-03-31
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2019-10-01 → 2019-12-31
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2019-10-01 → 2019-12-31
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2019-10-01 → 2019-12-31

PFAS detected

PFAS are industrial “forever chemicals”. These are the EPA's latest nationwide test results (2023–2025).

Contaminant	Max	Detection rate	Period
Pfba	0.0067 µg/L	1/4	2025

Other contaminants detected

Each bar shows the measured level as a share of the EPA limit: green is well under, amber is close to it, red is over. For lead and copper the limit applies to exactly the 90th-percentile figure shown, so red there means a real exceedance. For everything else the limit applies to a running annual average while the figure is the 95th percentile of this system's samples — over 100% is worth reading, but is not by itself a violation. Where a single sample came in higher than that percentile, it is noted under the bar. Formal violations are listed separately.

Contaminant	Level vs EPA limit	Detection rate	Source	Period
Bromodichloromethane	29 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 46 µg/L	128/128	SYR4	2012–2019
Chloroform	62.65 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 140 µg/L	128/128	SYR4	2012–2019
Dichloroacetic Acid	49 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 80 µg/L	128/128	SYR4	2012–2019
TTHM	89.65 µg/L 112% of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 80 µg/L worst single sample: 200 µg/L	128/128	SYR4	2012–2019
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)	69 µg/L 115% of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 60 µg/L worst single sample: 110 µg/L	128/128	SYR4	2012–2019
Trichloroacetic Acid	16.65 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 49 µg/L	128/128	SYR4	2012–2019
Dibromochloromethane	11 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 20 µg/L	124/128	SYR4	2012–2019
Dibromoacetic Acid	3.23 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 5 µg/L	115/128	SYR4	2012–2019
Monochloroacetic Acid	11.075 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 17 µg/L	90/128	SYR4	2012–2019
Copper	76.95 µg/L 5.9% of the EPA limit 1300 µg/L worst single sample: 110 µg/L	68/68	SYR4	2012–2019
Monobromoacetic Acid	2.215 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 3.6 µg/L	58/128	SYR4	2012–2019
Fluoride	812.5 µg/L 20% of the EPA limit 4000 µg/L worst single sample: 930 µg/L	40/40	SYR4	2012–2019
Nitrate	355 µg/L 3.6% of the EPA limit 10000 µg/L worst single sample: 390 µg/L	26/30	SYR4	2012–2019
Bromoform	2.615 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 2.7 µg/L	18/128	SYR4	2012–2019
Lead	10.5 µg/L 70% of the EPA limit 15 µg/L worst single sample: 12 µg/L	16/68	SYR4	2012–2019
Lead	0.0023 mg/L 15% of the EPA limit 0.0150 mg/L	13/13	LCR	2023
Atrazine	1.755 µg/L 59% of the EPA limit 3 µg/L worst single sample: 2 µg/L	8/8	SYR4	2012–2019
Barium	52.3 µg/L 2.6% of the EPA limit 2000 µg/L worst single sample: 53 µg/L	8/8	SYR4	2012–2019
Chromium	1.37 µg/L 1.4% of the EPA limit 100 µg/L worst single sample: 1.4 µg/L	3/8	SYR4	2012–2019
Selenium	1.66 µg/L 3.3% of the EPA limit 50 µg/L worst single sample: 1.7 µg/L	3/8	SYR4	2012–2019
Arsenic	1.3 µg/L 13% of the EPA limit 10 µg/L	1/8	SYR4	2012–2019
Toluene	0.8100 µg/L 0.1% of the EPA limit 1000 µg/L	1/3	SYR4	2013–2017

69 contaminants tested, none detected

1,1,1-Trichloroethane1,1,2-Trichloroethane1,1-Dichloroethylene1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene1,2-DIBROMO-3-CHLOROPROPANE1,2-Dichloroethane1,2-Dichloropropane11Cl-PF3OUdS4:2 Fts6:2 Fts8:2 Fts9Cl-PF3ONSAdonaAntimony, TotalBhc-GammaBenzeneBeryllium, TotalChlorobenzeneCadmiumCarbofuranCarbon TetrachlorideChlordaneCombined Radium (-226 And -228)DichloromethaneEthylene DibromideEndrinEthylbenzeneHexachlorobenzeneHfpo-DaHeptachlorHeptachlor EpoxideHexachlorocyclopentadieneLassoMercuryMethoxychlorNetfosaaNfdhaNmefosaaPFBSPfdaPfdoaPfeesaPfhpaPfhpsPfhxaPFHXSPfmbaPfmpaPFNAPFOAPFOSPfpeaPfpesPftaPftrdaPfunaSimazineStyreneTetrachloroethyleneThallium, TotalToxapheneTrichloroethyleneVinyl ChlorideXylenes, Totalcis-1,2-DichloroethyleneLithiumO-DichlorobenzeneP-Dichlorobenzenetrans-1,2-Dichloroethylene

Utility contact

Contact: SNETHEN, SCOTT
Phone: 785-214-4185
Email: [email protected]

Frequently asked questions about Ottawa, City of

Is Ottawa, City of tap water safe to drink?

EPA monitoring detected 23 contaminants in Ottawa, City of's water. A detection isn't the same as a violation — most levels are within federal limits. See each level and source above, and the utility's annual Consumer Confidence Report for its official compliance status.

What contaminants were detected in Ottawa, City of's water?

EPA monitoring detected Bromodichloromethane, Chloroform, Dichloroacetic Acid, TTHM, Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5), and others. The full list with the level and data source for each is above.

How many people does Ottawa, City of serve?

Ottawa, City of reports serving 12,604 people in Kansas, per its EPA record.

Has Ottawa, City of had any water quality violations?

The EPA has 18 violations on file for Ottawa, City of, of which 12 are health-based (a contaminant limit or required treatment was breached) and 0 remain open. The rest are monitoring or reporting failures.

Where does this data come from?

Every figure is official EPA drinking-water monitoring — the Lead & Copper Rule, the UCMR-5 nationwide testing program, and the EPA Six-Year Review — not our own testing. Each number is labelled with its source and period.