Is Cape Girardeau Tap Water Safe? Quality Report

Water source: Ground water
Ownership: Local government
Counties served: Cape Girardeau

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
TT	Health-based	Resolved	2025-04-01 → 2025-04-30
TT	Health-based	Resolved	2025-04-01 → 2025-04-30
TT	Health-based	Resolved	2025-04-01 → 2025-04-30
MCL	Health-based	Archived	1998-09-01 → 1998-09-30
MCL	Health-based	Archived	1998-09-01 → 1998-09-30
MCL	Health-based	Archived	1998-09-01 → 1998-09-30
Other	Monitoring	Resolved	2025-05-21
Other	Monitoring	Resolved	2025-02-21
MR	Monitoring	Archived	2024-11-01 → 2024-11-30
MR	Monitoring	Archived	2024-11-01 → 2024-11-30

PFAS detected

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

Contaminant	Max	Detection rate	Period
Pfba	0.0126 µg/L	4/4	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
Copper	104.29 µg/L 8% of the EPA limit 1300 µg/L worst single sample: 172 µg/L	94/96	SYR4	2012–2018
Bromodichloromethane	14.28 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 15.9 µg/L	52/52	SYR4	2012–2019
Chloroform	34.39 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 38.3 µg/L	52/52	SYR4	2012–2019
Dibromochloromethane	10.77 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 12.8 µg/L	52/52	SYR4	2012–2019
Bromoform	10.902 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 15.6 µg/L	48/52	SYR4	2012–2019
TTHM	56.9 µg/L 71% of the EPA limit 80 µg/L worst single sample: 62.7 µg/L	46/46	SYR4	2012–2019
Dibromoacetic Acid	5.8275 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 6.6 µg/L	42/46	SYR4	2012–2019
Dichloroacetic Acid	17.925 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 23.4 µg/L	36/46	SYR4	2012–2019
Lead	4.54 µg/L 30% of the EPA limit 15 µg/L worst single sample: 11.7 µg/L	33/96	SYR4	2012–2018
Trichloroacetic Acid	15.06 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 19.5 µg/L	33/46	SYR4	2012–2019
Nitrate-Nitrite	226.5 µg/L 2.3% of the EPA limit 10000 µg/L worst single sample: 240 µg/L	30/30	SYR4	2012–2019
Lead	0.0036 mg/L 24% of the EPA limit 0.0150 mg/L	26/26	LCR	2024
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)	41.17 µg/L 69% of the EPA limit 60 µg/L worst single sample: 45.4 µg/L	10/46	SYR4	2012–2019
Chromium	59.356 µg/L 59% of the EPA limit 100 µg/L worst single sample: 97.1 µg/L	9/14	SYR4	2012–2017
Barium	264.75 µg/L 13% of the EPA limit 2000 µg/L worst single sample: 266 µg/L	6/6	SYR4	2012–2017
Fluoride	855 µg/L 21% of the EPA limit 4000 µg/L worst single sample: 860 µg/L	6/6	SYR4	2012–2017
Arsenic	3.1095 µg/L 31% of the EPA limit 10 µg/L worst single sample: 3.22 µg/L	2/6	SYR4	2012–2017
Monobromoacetic Acid	8.6985 µg/L No EPA limit set worst single sample: 8.75 µg/L	2/46	SYR4	2012–2019
Lithium	10.3 µg/L No EPA limit set	1/4	UCMR-5	2025

78 contaminants tested, none detected

1,1,1-Trichloroethane1,1,2-Trichloroethane1,1-Dichloroethylene1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene1,2-DIBROMO-3-CHLOROPROPANE1,2-Dichloroethane1,2-Dichloropropane11Cl-PF3OUdS2,4,5-TP2,4-D4:2 Fts6:2 Fts8:2 Fts9Cl-PF3ONSAdonaAntimony, TotalAtrazineBhc-GammaBenzeneBeryllium, TotalChlorobenzeneCadmiumCarbofuranCarbon TetrachlorideChlordaneDichloromethaneDalaponDinosebEthylene DibromideEndrinEthylbenzeneHexachlorobenzeneHfpo-DaHeptachlorHeptachlor EpoxideHexachlorocyclopentadieneLassoMercuryMethoxychlorMonochloroacetic AcidNetfosaaNfdhaNmefosaaOxamylPFBSPfdaPfdoaPfeesaPfhpaPfhpsPfhxaPFHXSPfmbaPfmpaPFNAPFOAPFOSPfpeaPfpesPftaPftrdaPfunaPentachlorophenolPicloramSeleniumSimazineStyreneTetrachloroethyleneThallium, TotalTolueneToxapheneTrichloroethyleneVinyl ChlorideXylenes, Totalcis-1,2-DichloroethyleneO-DichlorobenzeneP-Dichlorobenzenetrans-1,2-Dichloroethylene

Utility contact

Contact: GUARD, ROBBIE
Phone: 573-450-3396
Email: [email protected]

Frequently asked questions about Cape Girardeau

Is Cape Girardeau tap water safe to drink?

EPA monitoring detected 20 contaminants in Cape Girardeau'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 Cape Girardeau's water?

EPA monitoring detected Copper, Bromodichloromethane, Chloroform, Dibromochloromethane, Bromoform, and others. The full list with the level and data source for each is above.

How many people does Cape Girardeau serve?

Cape Girardeau reports serving 39,941 people in Missouri, per its EPA record.

Has Cape Girardeau had any water quality violations?

The EPA has 67 violations on file for Cape Girardeau, of which 6 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.